


Boy's She's Single

by another_cancer



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/another_cancer/pseuds/another_cancer
Summary: She wanted to forget. She really did. Every day, every passing moment, she wanted that night to go away. From going into the pool house. To Dean leaving. Once again entering the pool house. To getting into the limo. She wanted it to go away.A darker AU of what happens in 5x08 once Dean pulls out of the driveway.Also, all characters and backstories belong to ASP.
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. In Her Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first piece on AO3, but this was originally written for wattpad.

She was glad Lorelai was already asleep when she arrived home partially wasted. However, she wasn't glad for the reasons you might think. After all, she did not mind if her mom saw her drunk. But the state she was in was beyond drunk. After the night she experienced she was broken. From the second Dean's car had pulled out of the fancy driveway she had been doomed. That night was one that would haunt her for the rest of her days. Nothing would be able to erase it no matter how hard she tried. Now all she could do was sit on the cold bathroom tile and cry before eventually dragging herself into the shower to wash off the horrible event of the night. The night and the limo.

. . .

Lorelai was scared of very few things in life. She could sit through a horror movie and endlessly mock it without wincing. But when she had woken up the morning after Rory was at her parents to find Rory, not in her bed, she was terrified. She instantly began looking for her phone to call her parents when she noticed the bathroom door was cracked open. Upon opening the door she found Rory in a state that scared her. Her baby girl was passed out on the bathroom floor with only a towel covering her. Instantly her mind went to the worse. She started feeling around for a pulse.

Never had she been happier when she felt the pulse of her daughter. Her worrying had finally slowed. Until she saw the bruises. Then her mind went crazy again. She didn't understand. So far Lorelai had only seen the bruise on Rory's neck, what would the woman think if she had seen some of the other bruises her daughter had hidden beneath the towel.

"Rory, you need to wake up," Lorelai whispered to her daughter, "Please hun. You've already scared your mother enough today you need to wake up and tell me what happened."

"Mom," the small girl said.

"Rory. You need to tell mommy why you are on the bathroom floor and how you got the bruise on your neck."

"Mom. I- I- can't. Not yet at least. I need time to remember it for myself," she replied choking back tears.

With urgency in her voice, Lorelai asked, "You don't remember?"

"Not all of it."

She was still so quiet. Barely talking above a whisper. Lorelai could tell something had changed inside her. She saw the fear in her little girl's eyes. Her twenty-year-old daughter had so much fear in her eyes. But she didn't know why her daughter was like that. And Rory was still trying to put all the fragments of memories back together.

"Rory go get dressed. We're going to the hospital," Lorelai finally said.

Without any protest, Rory whispered, "Okay."

The small girl slowly stood up with her towel and slipped out the door into her own room. She looked around for a second taking in all of it through her new eyes. For a second it all seemed the same. Then, it all changed in front of her. Suddenly, the bed became the first time of an act that would forever haunt her. The yale board was a reminder of the people who hurt her. The books were the only safe thing in the room a the moment. So while looking at the books she reached for clothes.

When she finally dropped the towel she glanced in the mirror. It was an accident. But after a quick glance, she couldn't look away from what she saw. Several bruises were covering her body. None of them were small either. They were the size of hands. Hands bigger than Rory's. Silently, tears rolled down the girl's face. She finally tore her head away from the mirror and looked at the books while she changed.

In the other room, Lorelai was pacing back and forth. She was so scared of what she saw. But she was afraid to push too far too soon. She knew something happened and she didn't want to break Rory by questioning her. For once Lorelai was determined to give her daughter as much time as she needed to open up.

Rory had finished changing and took one more look in the mirror. But instead of looking at the outfit, she looked into her eyes. And something snapped. The final piece broke.

This caused Rory to grab a bag that was sitting at the foot of her bed and take 3 shirts 2 pairs of jeans plus some old sweatpants. She then opened up her undergarments draw and threw a couple of bras and undies in the bag. She looked at her books and decided to take 3 books that would fit in the bag with her grabbing 'Olive Twist' 'Emma' and 'Howl'. Rory then decided she had to leave a note. So she quickly scribbled down some words onto the paper. Leaving the note on her desk and placing her phone next to it she headed to the window. The girl slowly unlocked it and opened it up.

Before climbing out she realized she'd need cash to get anywhere. She headed to her closet to find her secret stash of money that she hid so Lorelai didn't use it all. It contained three hundred and twenty-five dollars. That was the last thing she needed so she finally climbed out the window with everything she had and made her way to the town square to catch a bus.

Lorelai knew Rory could take long to change so she wasn't alarmed by her daughter not coming out of her room after seven minutes. She decided to use the bathroom instead. By the time it got to twelve minutes and Lorelai heard nothing she started freaking out a bit. But remembered Rory had a terrible night prior and she promised herself to be patient. What she didn't know was her daughter had already run halfway to the town square. At seventeen minutes, Lorelai decided it was time to go in.

She knocked on the door saying, "Rory, I'm coming in,"

Unfortunately, nothing could prepare Lorelai for what she found. Her daughter's room no longer contained her daughter and the window was open. Her mind went into full panic mode. She scanned the room for any signs of her daughter when she spotted the note and cell phone. Lorelai began to have tears fall.

To the empty room, she said, "Come on Rory it isn't that funny. You have scared mommy enough today."

When no one came out Lorelai rushed out of the room with the note at hand to the landline. She quickly dialed Luke's number and after three rings he picked up.

"Luke's diner," the voice on the other end said.

A sense of comfort rushed over Lorelai hearing the voice of the man she cared so much about answering the phone.

"Luke," she said with her voice breaking.

"Lorelai, is that you? What's wrong?"

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I need to go. I promise to stay safe. She left a note and her phone that's it."

Luke knew he could only be talking about one person but he still asked, "Who?"

"Rory. She left a note and now she's gone."

"Maybe she just went back to Yale."

Luke had finally given her a sense of hope, "Thank you, Luke."

Then she hung up and went to her car.

. . .

Rory had just arrived at the bus port in Hartford when she was looking at all the places she could run off to. She had 3 places in mind. Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. 3 cities all big enough it would be difficult to find her. Then her mind went into pros and cons mode.

Philadelphia pros, it is cheaper than the other two cities, has no ties there so it would not be high on the look for Rory list. Cons, has never been.

New York City pros, it is still close to home, has visited before. Cons, it would be expensive, and Jess.

She knew the chances of running into him would be very slim. But she didn't want to risk it.

Boston pros, like New York it is close to home and has visited before. Cons, Chris lived there.

Her mental pros and cons list were short. There was no research done. But she knew she had to go and she knew she had to get away from yale. So she chose Philadelphia. It was the furthest. She bought the bus ticket and found her bus. Thankfully it was relatively cheap. Once sat down on the bus it was the first time since she packed her mind wasn't fully occupied by running away. The previous night started flooding back into her head and she fought long and hard for it to disappear. She then pulled out a book to get her mind to shut up.

. . .

"Paris! Rory!" Lorelai yelled while banging on the dorm Paris and her daughter shared.

The door suddenly opened to show the blonde clearly angry, "Lorelai, it is 11 am on a Saturday. I had a late-night yesterday. So why are you here?"

"I need to find Rory."

Paris had finally taken the time to look at the woman who had clearly been crying. She heard the urgency in her voice. And the statement had finally sunken in. Lorelai didn't know where Rory was.

"She went to her Grandparents and said she was going back to Stars Hollow yesterday. Was she not home this morning? Maybe she's with Dean. Did you call her?"

The blonde was really worried. Her best friend's mother said she didn't know where Rory was. Paris liked to think she knew Rory better than most people. But now she was being told Rory was gone and she had no clue why Rory would just disappear on her mother like that.

With a shaky voice, Lorelai said, "She was on the bathroom floor this morning. She had a bruise on her neck. I told her we were going to the hospital. I did it all without making a stupid reference. She went to change and never came out. She left this in her room," she handed Paris the note.

Paris read the note in disbelief. The Rory she knew wouldn't pull something like this.

Lorelai spoke again, "Something bad happened. I saw it in her eyes."

. . .


	2. Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory finds a place to stay.
> 
> A talk with the elder Gilmore's and Dean.

It was getting late and she needed a place to stay for the night. She didn't have much money she knew tomorrow she would need to look around for any place looking to hire. She needed to find a motel to stay in. So she entered a bar to find a local that would be able to help her. It wasn't very busy, there were a couple of people sitting at the bar and some people at the high top tables. She walked over to two guys who were sitting close to the door. When she sat down next to them she suddenly became very conscious about the giant bruise on her neck.

She pushed the thought away and looked at the two men, who were both around her age, and awkwardly said, "Hi."

The two of them turned to see the girl. She was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was a mess, and there was a bruise on her neck. They were confused. In this bar, girls didn't walk up to them unless they planned on hitting on one of them. But this girl clearly wasn't going to do that.

"Hi," one of the two guys said, he stuck his hand out, "I'm Chris."

She shook his hand, and said, "Rory. I'm Rory."

He couldn't help but noticed she slightly flinched when their hands first touched. It was the first time she experienced physical contact since she fled home early that morning. Both men were still very confused by the girl standing in front of them. The second man at the table shot a look at Chris. Who simply shrugged.

"Matt," the other man said.

"Nice to meet you both."

Chris stood up and pulled out one of the other chairs at the table and offered her a seat which she took gratefully. She had been walking around quite a bit trying to find a place to stay and get a feel for the city she would be staying in. Her feet were tired and she was instantly relaxed once getting off her feet.

"Thank you, Chris," she whispered.

"No problem. But I have to ask," he paused to consider how to phrase his question, "Is there any particular reason you came to speak to us? I mean it is fine if there isn't. But-"

She cut him off from what would have surely been an awkward ramble, "Yes, I was wondering if either of you could point me to the nearest motel."

Chris started, "Yeah there is-"

"A motel?" Matt asked.

Rory was a bit taken back by the question. It was unusual. She just expected directions not to be questioned about where she wanted to stay. But she could tell he was just concerned for her.

She put on a small smile and said, "Yes a motel."

Bluntly he asked, "Why?"

"I'm short on cash," she said looking at the ground.

"And you plan on wasting what is left on a motel rather than food?"

She hadn't thought about that. Would she be eating dinner that night? And how would she pay for a place to sleep before she gets her first paycheck. She started breathing heavily. She was panicking. It was a bad idea. But she couldn't go back to Stars Hollow, Yale, Hartford, or anywhere people would know her. Matt was nervous. He just caused the girl in front of him to have a panic attack. Chris on the other had experienced panic attacks as a child quite often. He knew how to calm down.

"Rory," Chris said, "You need to take deeper breaths. Matt is sorry he caused you to freak. But, now you need to take deep breaths."

Chris nudged Matt, who said, "Yeah, I am sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. It's just the motels here aren't nice. The closest one is crap."

"Not helping," Chris said between his teeth.

"You can stay with us instead," Matt blurted out.

"What?" Rory and Chris both said at the same time.

"Yeah, we have a spare room. You can stay. It is better than a motel. And we have food. You won't have to worry about that either."

"Excuse us for a second, Rory. Matt come with me."

The two men got up and walked away from the table. Rory knew Chris would be asking Matt 'what the hell he was thinking.' It didn't matter though she was going to say no. She couldn't say yes for two reasons. One, they were strangers. Two, as nice as Chris and Matt were she wasn't sure she'd be comfortable staying with two men.

When Chris and Matt came back to the table it was clear Matt had won. He had a very proud look on his face.

"Sorry about that," Matt said.

"It's fine. I can't accept your offer anyways."

"No," Chris said, "We just spent three minutes arguing about this and I caved, so please stay with us."

"I can't."

"Look we'd hate to be the people who pressure you into something you don't want to. But the motel isn't safe and I know we are strangers. But don't we look trustworthy?" Matt asked.

Rory froze. She had used that line before on Jess. And she did want to stay safe. They had a spare room. And they didn't want to do what- She couldn't finish the thought it would cause too much pain. She knew if she stayed with them she'd be fine, she could see it in their eyes.

"Okay," she said.

. . .

After three hours of being at her parent's house, Lorelai had heard her parents deny and accept that Rory had run. They had called the police who say the note means they can't treat it as a missing person's case and she's not a runaway kid, since she's over 18. This then led them to call a PI to track down Rory. Now Emily was yelling at her while Richard was sitting quietly.

"This is your fault!" Emily screamed.

Lorelai shot back, "My fault? How is it my fault?"

"You are her influence. I mean you did the same thing at sixteen."

"No. I am not letting you blame this on me. Something happened at your party. Your party!"

"Nothing happened at my party. I would know if something did."

"She was fine the day before. Then all of a sudden my baby is on the bathroom floor with a bruise on her neck. Stuff like that doesn't just happen," Lorelai said with tears falling.

"She was with good people," Emily said with a shaky voice.

Richard stood and calmly said, "Something clearly happened and we can not blame until we know what truly happened."

"I need to leave," Lorelai said while standing up.

Emily got up after her, and said, "You can't just leave."

"Mom, I need to go. If she comes back home or calls I need to be there."

. . .

There was someone sitting in front of the crap shack when she pulled into the driveway. For a moment she thought it was Rory until the figure rose. And it clearly wasn't. It was a tall male. It was Dean. Not Rory. But then she realized Dean might know where her daughter was. So she rushed to the steps of the house.

But before she could speak, Dean said, "Lorelai, is Rory with you? Did she go back to Yale? I called her but, I think she's screening her calls. She won't answer. I need to talk to her. I broke up with her but, it was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. I love her Lorelai. I need to say sorry."

"She's gone, Dean."

"She went to Yale? Okay, I'll drive there."

"No, she's gone. She ran away."

Dean's face paled, "What? She can't be."

"Did she have a bruise on her neck when you saw her?"

"What? No."

"Okay so it happened later," Lorelai muttered so low Dean couldn't register the words.

"What?"

"Nothing, just it's late you should go home."

Dean nodded at her and walked away while Lorelai walked up the steps into the dark house. She flicked on the lights and walked to the answering machine hoping to receive a voice message from Rory. But it was empty. No messages. So she sat on the couch and hugged her knees. She needed to know where Rory was. Then the phone rang.

She rushed to pick it up and said, "Rory?"

"It's Luke."

"Oh sorry, Luke."

"I'm guessing nothing from her then."

"Yeah."

"Want me to come over so you don't need to be alone tonight?"

"That would be nice," Lorelai said.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"Thank you."

. . .

"Welcome," Matt explained.

They had just walked into a publishing house, which was also a bookstore. There was art on the walls and books all over the place. It felt home-like. This was the first time in two days she felt like she was in a home-like space. Without saying anything she headed to the books. Glancing at all the titles. Some she has read. Others she hasn't. It all put a genuine smile on her face.

"She likes the books," Chris said to Matt.

"Sorry," Rory said, "It's just I only got to take three books with me and I can't exactly buy new books. But you took me to a publishing house full of books. There are a bunch I haven't read too. This place is really nice. Sorry, I'm rambling. I just really like books. Wait you guys live here?"

"Well upstairs," Matt says starting to ascend the staircase.

Chris and Rory followed leaving the books behind. They entered the cozy apartment that was a bit disorganized. However, it reminded her of the crap shack. And in relationship, her mom. The smile left her face and she just stared at the floor.

"Thank you for letting me stay."

"It's no problem," Matt said.

"Your room is this was," Chris said walking towards a hallway.


	3. I'll Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doyle finds out.
> 
> Paris gets a call.
> 
> Rory tells Matt and Chris who she is.

Bang, bang, bang.

"Geller, Gilmore, why the hell haven't I seen either of you in the News Room this week?" Doyle screamed on the other side of the dorm room Paris had been hiding in since Saturday, "It's been three days. You missed the staff meeting this week."

It was quiet. There was no response to Doyle. Paris heard but, she had no interest in responding. It was already Thursday. She knew Doyle had the right to be concerned, two important members of his staff were missing. However, Paris wasn't ready to leave. She kept thinking Rory might call and if Rory calls she didn't want to miss it. Instead, Paris received a call from Headmaster Charleston, the Gilmore's PI, and constant calls from Lorelai updating her. Though, the updates ended up being nothing. No one had heard from Rory in five days.

"Geller, Gilmore, answer the damn door," Doyle said to the silence, then reaching for the doorknob finding it unlocked, "Look if you won't let me in I'll let myself in."

With that, he entered the room finding a mess. Paris had torn the room apart days before see if Rory had left any clues at all to where she might go. Paris was sitting in the room staring at Doyle, who was concerned about the mess he saw.

"Paris, what happened? Did one of you guys lose something?"

"No, well yes. I lost Rory."

"What do you mean? Paris if one of you guys didn't finish an article it's fine. But you guys need to come into the office."

Paris was irritated by his statement and she shot back, "You really think either of us lost a paper! We are responsible people!"

"Well look at the room, what am I supposed to think? And where the hell is Gilmore?"

"Gone."

"What?" Doyle said clearly confused.

"SHE'S GONE! SHE LEFT! HAPPY DOYLE?" Paris snapped.

"Well, where'd she go?"

"HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW? SHE DIDN'T EVEN TELL HER DAMN MOM. SHE DECIDED TO BE AN IDIOT AND GO WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING. OH BUT SHE LEFT A NOTE. She left a note," Paris said breaking down.

Paris was back to crying. She had cried more often over the last five days than the rest of the year. Her best friend was gone. Doyle had sat down next to Paris unsure of how to comfort her. So the two of them just sat in silence. Paris quietly sobbed while Doyle stared at a spot on the floor considering all the information he was just given. He had been the only person over since Rory's disappearance. Paris was secretly glad he was there. Then the phone rang.

Paris immediately shot up and ran over, not even letting it ring for over two seconds, "Rory?"

. . .

She had been there for five days. She was working a part-time job, along with doing odd jobs across the city, and helping Chris and Matt as much as she could. Matt and Chris hadn't pushed much on where she was from or what led her to Philly. They knew she didn't sleep well. She would constantly wake up from nightmares, which caused her to resent sleeping. So she'd do extra work around the publishing house at night or read. She used caffeine to stay awake. On the third day, she had fully remembered everything that happened on the night of the party. She had relived it several times. To avoid that she had to keep her mind occupied at all times. But through it all, she managed to fit in with Matt and Chris.

"Matt, Chris?" Rory asked from the stairs.

"Yeah?" Matt said popping up from behind a shelf.

"I was wondering if I could use the landline to make a call. It's um- It's long-distance though," she said staring at her feet.

The nervousness in her voice told Matt it was important. Perhaps she was calling someone from where she came from. He knew this would be a big step for her. It would also give them a way to ask questions without intruding too much.

So, he responded, "Yeah, sure Rory. Make as many calls as you need to."

"Thanks!"

Rory went back up to the apartment. She sat down on the couch and stared at the phone sitting on the table beside her. She already knew who she was going to call, but she was scared. She wasn't sure how widespread the news of her disappearance had gone. For all, she knew her Grandparents have kept it quiet and only family knew. So the reaction she got from the recipient was unknown. Reluctantly, she dialed the number and it was answered rather quickly.

"Playboys of Yale, may I ask who this is? And who you want to speak to?" a male voice said on the other side of the phone.

"Rory Gilmore," she replied nervously, "I want to speak to Logan. Please."

She wasn't sure why she added, please. But it felt needed in the moment. However, she instantly regretted it. They didn't deserve, please. She really needed to talk to him though and if please was going to get her there she would say please. There was some shouting on the other end of the phone. Rory was worried he wouldn't talk to her.

Then someone said, "Rory, good to hear from you. Some PI asked me questions about you I was told you disappeared. The guys and I missed you. So tell us, when will you be swinging around?"

He knew she was gone and that's what he said. After everything they put her through, they missed her. She wondered what they told the PI. She doubted it was anything close to the truth. They wouldn't tell anyone she left them crying. Or that they saw her bruised. More importantly, they caused the bruising. They wouldn't tell they tossed her around like a toy and not an actual human. They took turns with her. They wouldn't tell anything important. Then she realized she couldn't talk to them. So she hung up. Instead, she dialed another number.

"Rory?" Paris' voice came booming through.

"Hey, Paris."

"Rory. Thank god. Do you know how many people I confused answering like that? Where the hell are you? Everyone is worried sick. You can't just leave. You need to come back."

"Paris."

"YOU NEED TO COME BACK."

With tears in her eyes, Rory said, "Maybe one day. But not right now."

"Where are you?"

"Someplace. A place I can call home for now. I promise I'm not staying on the streets. I know that's what you're thinking."

"What about Yale? And everything you worked for?"

It was a reasonable question. Something she had definitely thought about. But she ultimately decided to give it up for now. When she ran she knew she needed to start from scratch. Make her own money. She couldn't rely on her Grandparents' money. She would go back to college eventually. But she wouldn't go back to Yale. She'd go to a school she could pay for herself.

"I'm not going back yet. I need time," it was the half-truth, "Look Paris I need to go. I have to work soon."

"Call, please. And call your Mom. She's so worried."

"Bye Paris."

"Bye Gilmore."

Then Rory hung up. She knew Matt and Chris had listened to as much as the conversation as they could. She knew they were curious. She didn't blame them. She would be curious if put in their situation. Rory figured it was time to tell them a bit about who she was and a small bit of why she was there. They were good about not asking too many questions. It was nice. They allowed her to feel at home.

"Matt, Chris. I know you guys are there," on cue they both stumbled into the room, "Assuming you guys listened, I guess it is time for us to actually talk about who I am."

They both had a smile on their face.

"If you insist," Matt said as they both sat down.

. . .

"She called?"

Lorelai was feeling so many different emotions. She was happy Rory had finally called. She was even a bit surprised Rory called. But Rory didn't call her. And that hurt. She wanted to be the first person Rory called. But at least she knew her baby was still alive. And she would have to just hold onto that thought. Rory was okay.

"Yeah, she called. I flipped out on her a bit. Asked her about school. She said she isn't going back yet, " Paris replied.

"Thanks for telling me Paris."

"No problem. I need to go now. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Paris, " and with that, she received dial tone.

That was the calmest conversation she had with Paris all week. Paris seemed to be happier now that Rory called. And Lorelai couldn't blame her. It was great news. And a complete surprise. Lorelai had known her daughter to be stubborn like herself. She knew if Rory was set to make a life for herself she'd do it. She thought Rory wouldn't look back. But Rory called Paris. If only she knew it wasn't her daughter's original intention.

. . .

Emily had just sent Logan back to Yale after having him over for dinner when he unexpectedly showed up at her home. He informed her Rory called him. She was unsure why her Granddaughter chose to call him. However, she was happy. In her mind, she assumed Rory called Logan because they had hit it off at the party she had thrown. She thought Logan might just be the way to get her Granddaughter back. She had been so far off but no one knew it. Emily missed Rory so much and this disappearance reminded her so much of her own daughters one 19 years ago. The only good that had come out of this mess was Richard moving back into the main house to stay with Emily. The two were finally beginning to grow back together.

. . .

"So you went to Yale, you were really close with your mom, your Grandma was a royale ass-"

"Hey, I never said that," Rory said cutting Chris off.

"Well the way you described her it sounded like she was one," Matt chipped in.

"She means well."

"If you say so."

"Anyways, as I was saying, you grew up in some small town. But you ran because of something you won't talk about, but you promise you were not involved in something illegal. You also love to read, and you were on the Yale Daily News. Did I miss anything?" Chris asked.

"My last name is Gilmore," she shrugged.

"Yes, your last name is Gilmore. Oh wait, you called some guy first, who you insisted wasn't your boyfriend, then you called your old dorm mate."

"Yep."

"Chris you know what this means," Matt said.

Chris smiled and nodded.

"I have to move out, don't I? I mean it's not like I truly moved in. All I have is a small bag of clothes and three books. I am sorry I even stayed this long. I can grab my bag right now. I just need directions to a motel. I really didn't mean to impose. I've already overstayed. I'm sorry."

"Rory, you're rambling," Chris said, "And we aren't asking you to move out. We are offering a job. We can pay you to do everything you've already been doing."

"What? But you guys are already letting me stay for free. I should be helping you guys pay rent. The least I can do is help out with work."

"My Grandfather used to own this building. It's mine now, so we don't pay rent. Plus you already do more work then the rest of it. You should be getting paid for it. If you want we can work your hours around your other job if you want to keep it," Chris said.

"Please Rory," Matt begged.

"Yes," she said with a smile, "I'll do it. Whatever you want. Edit, man the store, restock shelves, inventory, I'll even deal with the poets if you want me to. Thank you."


	4. When She's Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new place.
> 
> Christopher finds out.
> 
> Dean eats dinner.

Stars Hollow changed when Rory left town. It had been two months since the ill-fated day where the town's pride and joy had vanished. No one had heard from Rory since the call she had given Paris days after she'd gone.

Lorelai eventually went back to work. But every day she still thought about her daughter. Emily and Richard had gotten back together. But every day they still thought about their granddaughter. Paris started going back to class and showing up at the newspaper, Doyle had been helping her get through everything. But every day she still thought about her best friend. Lane was late to the news but when she found out it messed her up, the band pulled her back together. But every day she still thought about her best friend. Dean had learned to move on. But every day he still thought about the girl he loved. Luke had helped Lorelai get through everything and pushed away his stress. But every day he thought about the girl he considered a daughter. The residences of Stars Hollow learned to move forward with their lives. But every day they thought about Rory.

Stars Hollow moved forward and so did Rory. Rory liked her life in Philadelphia. But every day she thought about friends, family, the life she left behind, and what led her to flee. Down in Philly, she had grown to live a comfortable lifestyle. She was still working two jobs. Part-time at a retail store and full time at Truncheon Publishing with Matt and Chris. She managed to schedule everything for it to all workout. Her life was good, her roommates made her feel welcome, and everything was coming together.

In fact, Chris, Matt, and Rory were considering expanding. There was a building they had been looking at that would be perfect. It was three stories. The first floor would be the book store/art gallery and they would include a space for the poets to do readings. The second floor would be the office. And the third floor would be the apartment they lived in. It had a three-bedrooms and two-bathroom. There was also an attic that could be used as an extra bedroom if need. It was perfect. Except it wasn't for sale. Until.... . .

"It's for sale! Oh my god! Finally, it's for sale!" Rory cried while running into the store, "I just walked by Sam's and there's a for sale sign in the window!"

"No way, seriously?" Matt questioned, not fully believing the statement.

"Come on guys," she said dragging Matt and Chris out the door and down the street, "Look for yourselves."

"Oh my god, it's finally for sale!" Matt said squealing.

Chris and Rory broke out laughing, and Chris said, "Thank you for letting me hear you squeal!"

"Oh please, like you aren't just as excited. It is finally for sale! We can buy it!" Matt said.

"We need to see what he's asking for first. There's a chance we won't be able to afford it."

"Please your building plus our savings should be enough to buy this place," Rory replied not realizing what she implied.

"Our savings?" Matt pried.

"Yeah mine, yours, and Chris'"

Then it struck Rory. Maybe she wasn't included in the move. Suddenly she was freaking out. 

She'd need to find a new place to live and pack the stuff she'd own. Find another job! Matt and Chris recognized the panic on her face. They still didn't understand how Rory didn't understand, they like having her around. She is always super helpful and is a hard worker. They just hadn't expected her to be pooling her own money into buying the new place too. After all, they knew she was saving for college.

"I'm sorry, I just assumed- I shouldn't have assumed. I can find a new place to live. I can find another job. It's fine. I'm sorry for thinking that-" Rory rambled.

"Ror, stop saying sorry. We aren't kicking you out. We just thought you were saving for college," Chris said, cutting her off.

"Well of course I am saving, but I love working with you guys, and buying this place will be a really big deal. I want to be part of it."

"Good, we want you to be part of it too!" Matt exclaimed.

"If you buy it with us, you will officially be a co-owner of Truncheon Publishing," Chris said smiling.

"I'd love too!" Rory replied.

"Good, now let's see what Sam is asking for. I know Mark wants to buy our place and he said he's willing to buy it for anything under 375 which is extremely reasonable. It is probably more than what it is worth anyway. So I'll go in and see what he is asking for. You two stay out here," Chris said going into business mode.

"Hey, why do I have to stay out here?" Rory asked.

"Well someone needs to keep an eye on Matt."

"Hey!" Matt said.

Matt and Rory sat on the sidewalk for seven minutes waiting for Chris to come back out. When Chris exited he was on the phone and walked right past the two of them sitting on the street. He kept walking right into Truncheon. Rory and Matt followed him up the stairs where Chris proceeded to take out some boxes.

When he got off the phone he said, "I need 5000 dollars from both of you. But start packing. That was the lawyer. This place is sold. As soon as you guys have the 5000 we have Sam's place. We still have a month before we need to move out though. And they are dropping by with paperwork that will legally make Rory a co-owner of Truncheon."

Rory ran to her room and grabbed a box. She brought it to the kitchen where Matt and Chris were. And she started counting money. Eventually, she got to 5000 and handed it to Chris. Then she counted the rest of the money left. 3600. It wasn't a lot, but it was hers. Everything she had gained the last two months was because she worked for it all.

. . .

"Lor! WHY THE HELL WASN'T I INFORMED RORY'S MISSING? I'VE JUST BEEN TOLD SHE'S BEEN GONE FOR TWO MONTHS!" Christopher yelled while he barged into Lorelai's inn.Lorelai hadn't told Christopher. She told everyone else besides him. She messed up. The day he barged in she was working the desk. Thankfully it wasn't Michel he would have been annoyed. But for once Christopher was being extremely reasonable. His daughter was gone and he wasn't told. Lorelai never told him. Emily and Richard didn't tell him. And Rory sure as hell didn't call. But he came to visit and he found out.

"Lorelai, where is she? I went to Yale to visit and Paris said she's been gone for two months!"

"She left, Chris, two months ago. I thought someone would have told you," Lorelai said without making eye contact.

"You should have told me!"

"I know. I know I should have, but I didn't. It's too late now! I can't change that. So if you're going to yell at me leave."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought my Mom would tell you, I was trying to deal. I can't even remember the last time I made an obscure reference that no one understands. This is the fifth time I've been at work for two months."

"At least you had an opportunity to freak out. I didn't even know-"

"And you are so lucky for that! Every day, every second, every moment I spend worrying about her. What I'd give to not know and just have a moment to myself," Lorelai stated.

"I want to know what's up with my kid," Christopher said.

"So do I. So do I."

. . .

Dean was working two jobs. Everyone gave him pity when Rory left. The town thought they were together when she left. He didn't have the heart to admit the truth. He let them feel bad for him. To him it was the same anyways, she still broke his heart by leaving. He still missed her. Rory was everything to Dean. He just hoped he wasn't the reason she disappeared. His parents weren't happy when he divorced Lindsay. But now it changed they also pitied him. And they hated Rory even more than already did.

Today he had just gotten back from a shift at Doose's. His parents had already called to say he needs to come to their place for dinner and they had company. When he arrived at the house he walked in to find Lindsay and her mother sitting there. Possibly the last people he expected. As soon as he saw them he turned around and headed towards the door.

"Dean!" his mom said coming down the stairs, "Theresa and Linsay are here to join us for dinner!"

"Great," Dean said dully turning around.

Over dinner, they made small talk. Everyone avoided the sore subjects floating in the air. Occasionally, Dean would look up to find Lindsay staring at him. It was extremely awkward. Clara wasn't having it. She was extremely confused by the situation and wanted to know why Lindsay and her mother were there. She didn't really like either of them anyway.

Instead of pretending she said, "Why are we having this dinner? They're divorced."

"Clara!" Dean's mother yelled.

"May, it's okay. We should explain," Teresa said, May nodded, and Teresa continued, "May and I think it would be in everyone's best interest if Dean and Lindsay for back together."

"WHAT?" Dean exclaimed.

"Dean calm down," May said, "With Rory finally gone this can work."

"Maybe they're right," Lindsay piped in, "I mean you can't still love Rory after she left town like that."

"She left because I was an idiot. I was mad and I broke up with her the night before. I was going to fix things. But she left. I'm an idiot and now she's gone. So excuse me if I don't want to get back together with my ex-wife, while the girl I love is missing," Dean said.

Then he got up and left.

. . .

"Emily," Richard said as he sat down next to her.

"Yes," the woman said while turning to face him.

"She doesn't want to be found. I think it's time we call off the PI."

"Why would she do this?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure, but she'll be back when she's ready."


	5. Explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess. 
> 
> Rory's birthday.
> 
> Rory's story.
> 
> Drunk on the couch.

Luke went back up to the apartment after a long day at the diner. It was a Friday so Lorelai wasn't home yet. She was still caught up in her Friday night dinner with her parents. Sunday was Rory's birthday. Luke knew Lorelai was dreading the day. This year there would be no party for Stars Hollow's princess. Instead, everyone would pretend like it was a normal day. 72 days ago Rory left. And she had made one call to her roommate back at Yale.

When Luke entered the tiny living space the lights were already on. He didn't typically leave them on and he knew he had turned them off earlier that day. So, he carefully looked around spotting who turned on the light. It was Jess. He hadn't seen Jess since Liz's wedding. Occasionally, Jess would give him a call and an update. There hadn't been one for the last three months though.

"Jess," Luke said.

"Uncle Luke," Jess said with a smirk.

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, Uncle Luke."

"Jess. Why are you here anyway? You don't normally visit."

"I'm leaving New York, just thought you should know."

"What? What happened? Did you do something illegal? Do you need to stay here?" Luke asked worriedly.

"Relax, it just got too expensive."

"Oh okay, then what are you doing here?"

"Just thought I should tell you in person. And I need to crash here tonight."

"Okay fine. I'll go to Lorelai's in that case, just let me grab some stuff," Luke said maneuvering around the room.

"Huh," Jess replied.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?" Luke asked again.

"You didn't give the whole stay away from Rory speech."

"Well you know it by now," Luke said avoiding the subject.

"That has never stopped you before," Jess pried.

"It never stopped you anyway."

"You always give the speech."

"Is she seeing anyone," Jess asked.

"Not that I know of."

"Huh."

"What?"

"You're dating Lorelai and don't know if Rory's dating anyone?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, that's bull."

"Lorelai doesn't know."

"That's bull."

"I'm serious, Jess, no one has heard from Rory in two months. She's gone."

"What?" Jess asked confused.

. . .

Sunday morning Rory crept out of her room, in the new place she and the guys had moved into last week. It was 4 am. She walked over to the phone and dialed her mom's number. She hoped Lorelai was still up. As much as she was trying to stay away from her old life, she wanted to call her mom. It was important to her and she knew her mom would want to hear for her for once.

Meanwhile, Lorelai was sitting up next to the phone. She wasn't sure if Rory would call. She was afraid Rory wouldn't call. She wanted Rory to call. At 4:01 the phone rang and she grabbed it.

"Rory?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Mom, I miss you," Rory said.

"I miss you too babe. Come home," Lorelai said knowing the response.

"I can't."

4:02

"I love you. I really do mom, but I have to stay here," Rory said.

"Tell me what's here then," once again Lorelai knew the answer.

"I can't."

"Why'd you go?"

"Mom it's almost 4:03. Okay?"

"Okay."

They both stared at their clocks without saying anything to each other. They heard each other breathing and then the clock hit 4:03. Lorelai began her story of Rory's childbirth. Occasionally, Rory would let out a laugh, she missed this. But at the same time, it felt wrong. Three months ago this would have been great. However, she felt like she was depending on her mom again. Lorelai couldn't be her best friend anymore. It wasn't going to work out. Halfway through the story, Matt entered the room.

He asked, "It's 4 am why are you on the phone?"

"Um... It's a birthday thing with my mom," Rory said.

"Ror, who are you talking to," Lorelai asked.

"My roommate," Rory replied.

"Wait you called your mom?" Matt asked, "Wait it's your birthday? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yes, yes, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it," Rory said.

"What's your roommate's name?" Lorelai asked.

"Matt, his name is Matt."

"So you live with a guy? Is he just a roommate? Or is he more? Is he cute? Tell mommy everything!" Lorelai said.

But Rory couldn't. She couldn't tell her mom everything. It wasn't right. Her mom couldn't know anything about her new life. She loved the woman she truly did, but Rory needed to start over. And that meant she had to go for now. Once everything was fixed Rory could go back. Right now wasn't the time though.

"Mom I need to go," Rory whispered before hanging up.

She had tears in her eyes and she brought her knees to her chest. Matt had walked over and sat next to her. Her tears started falling and he put his arm around her. He wasn't really sure how to comfort a crying girl so he just sat there. Through the past two months, he had learned quite a bit about Rory. She became one of his closest friends. And now she was crying next to him.

They sat in silence for a bit before Matt finally asked, "What happened?"

"I can't tell her anything about you guys," Rory said.

"Rory, I meant-"

"Logan, Colin, James, there were more, I don't remember all of them. The night before I left my grandparents threw a party. All guys and me, it wasn't good. We formed a sub-party in the pool house. Got tipsy. Dean came. He dumped me. Then it all went downhill," Rory was in tears, for the first time she was telling the story out loud.

. . .

Dean had just pulled out of the driveway. For a moment the guys looked like they felt bad for her. But then they started heading back in towards the pool house. Logan and Rory were the only two still standing outside. After her LDB article, they had started to become close friends. They would talk to each other if they ran into each other. Sometimes they'd run into each other at the coffee cart and he'd buy Rory coffee. She was glad he was the one left.

"Let's get you inside," Logan said, walking Rory back towards the pool house.

When they entered the pool house everyone else had already begun drinking again. No one noticed the two of them walk in. The simply sat down and he grabbed two drinks. One for him and one for her. She wasn't a big drinker so she took small sips while he drank his all at once.

Then Logan announced, "Boys she's single!"

With that statement, he kissed her. She didn't respond, she was confused. She had no clue what he was doing. She had just been dumped, now his lips were on hers. She pushed him away. But that backfired. It just led to another guy grabbing her. She fought back until she was met with violence. After almost every guy had kissed her Logan pulled out a condom. And it all got worse. There was only one guy in that room that didn't do anything. Finn.

. . .

"I need a drink," Rory said after telling Matt the story, "You want one?"

"Sure," Matt replied uncertainly.

Both of them were still underage. After all, Rory had turned 20 that day and Matt was only a few months older than Rory. However, Chris was 21 and always kept a case of beer in their fridge. It was very rare Matt and Rory would touch the beer. But tonight they needed it.

They both drank five beers that night and were a bit drunk. Rory more so than Matt. When they finished drinking it was 5:07 am. However, the buzz kept them up. The two of them were happy drunks and were constantly giggling at nothing. Neither of them talked about what Rory has told him earlier. Matt understood he had to keep it to himself.

Rory's mind was all over the place. It would jump from place to place. Eventually, it landed on how nice Matt was to her. He never questioned any of it. He was just an amazing friend. He was there for her. He offered a place for her to stay when he didn't know her. He was also fun to be around. Then Rory leaned over and kissed him. To her surprise, he kissed back. The sun was rising and the two were making out on the couch. Rory found herself enjoying it. She was willing to do it and it was fun.

At some point in it all, she found herself talking off Matt's shirt and she started unbuttoning his pants. He helped her take off the shirt she was wearing and she slipped off her shorts. They were both left in undergarments.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Chris screamed.

Neither of them heard him open the door. But when they heard him yell they both sobered up and became aware of everything that had happened. They jumped off each other and started grabbing clothes off the floor and putting it back on.

"Explain," Chris said.


	6. Last Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lore and Luke talk.
> 
> A date. 
> 
> Jess leaves.

"Explain, " Chris said.

Matt and Rory shared a look before he said, "It's Rory's birthday."

"So you guys can have sex on the couch?"

"We weren't having sex. We were just- We were kissing, " Matt said while Chris gave him a 'really' look, "fine we were making out. No sex happened. Not here, not ever. Well unless you managed to bring a girl home since we moved in."

"And if I hadn't walked in?" Chris questioned ignoring Matt's last comment.

"We probably would have had sex, " Rory said while she glared at the floor.

"Exactly!" Chris exclaimed.

"Look we're sorry, we were drunk. I need to sleep, " Rory said exiting back to her own room to go over everything that had just happened.

Once Rory left Chris asked Matt, "What happened? How did you guys end up making out at 5:30 in the morning?"

"She called her mom at 4 for some birthday tradition and I walked in the room. Then she hung up and started crying. She told me why she left. It was bad, Chris. If I could tell you I would. But it's her story. She wanted to have a drink so we drank. Then she kissed me and I kissed back."

"She told you?"

"Yeah."

"Will it happen again?" Chris asked.

"That's up to Ror. I don't want to lose her friendship, plus we were both drunk."

. . .

"Wow did my uncle get lucky?" Jess joked when Luke entered the diner with a smile.

"Jeez Jess."

"What you at Lorelai's and now you have a smile, that's not that big of a jump."

"Rory called so Lorelai is in a good mood, " Luke said as Lorelai entered the diner in a distressed state, "Or was... Lorelai what happened?"

"She lives with a guy. It just hit me. She lives with a guy and when I asked about him she said she had to go. She lives with a guy! It's like she forgot about her home here and just moved on! It's like she forgot about Dean."

"That's what she is supposed to do. She ran. Now she's starting over. The guy can just be a roommate," Luke replied calmly.

"Why doesn't she need me anymore?" Lorelai asked.

"She needs to do this by herself. That's what Jess did. That's what you did. Now it's her turn."

He was right. And that killed Lorelai. She just wanted her kid to need her again. She wasn't ready to let go. She wanted to know why Rory was gone and where Rory was. She wanted her baby girl back. The waiting game wasn't one she enjoyed playing.

. . .

Rory had gotten sleep and had thought things through. She knew she cared about Matt and he was a wonderful person. He definitely wasn't horrible to look at. She liked Matt as a friend. However, she also liked him more than just friends. She knew he wasn't 'the one' but he made her feel safe.

Rory knocked on Matt's door before entering and sat down next to him all without saying a word. Neither of them spoke for a while. They weren't sure what to say.

"I don't regret it, " Rory said, "even if I was drunk I don't regret it."

"I don't either."

"You aren't 'the one' and I don't think you'll ever be."

"Are you looking for forever?"

"No," Rory realized, "I'm not."

"Tonight at 7:15, I'll be outside your door. We're going to dinner. If it's a date or birthday dinner is up to you," Matt said exiting his room leaving Rory to think.

. . .

"Hey Luke," Jess said while the diner was empty other than Kirk.

"Yeah?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh. Where are you going?"

"Philly. It's a lot cheaper than New York."

"Say bye before you go," Luke said.

Jess knew the double meaning of this statement. Luke was referring to when he left for California without telling anyone. Jess nodded to Luke and went back to wiping the counter. He was unsure of what would happen in Philly. He had already found a place to stay and a job via the internet. As strange as it was Jess was going to miss Stars Hollow. Through the short periods of time staying there, it became his home.

. . .

"CHRIS!!" Rory yelled while running down the stairs.

Rory was having a fashion crisis. She had decided it would be a date rather than just a birthday dinner. However, she had no female friends. Or any other friends besides Chris and Matt. Since Matt was her date she couldn't ask him. So she was seeking out Chris's help. She knew he would probably know nothing. But she was freaking out.

"We have people here," Chris said.

"Oh, sorry," Rory said looking at the customers, "Hi I'm Rory, I'll be helping you today while Chris goes up to my room and picks out an outfit for me to wear on my date because I am having a crisis," Chris sent there dumbfounded, "Now Chris, please."

Chris mumbled something and went upstairs while Rory helped out around the store. She didn't do much retail, her job mostly involved editing. However, she knew how to sell things, since up until four days ago she was still working her second job at the retail store. Chris had come downstairs happy to see Rory had sold a couple of books. He handed Rory a blue dress that would fit her figure wonderfully and match her eyes.

"Thanks, Chris."

"Never again, your room is a mess."

Rory simply rolled her eyes in response and headed back up to change into the dress. It was beautiful. She looked nice and she felt good. She was determined to have a good time with Matt. She applied some light makeup and grabbed shoes. She went back downstairs to find it empty and fund Chris reading.

"What do you think?" Rory asked.

"I think he'll be drooling and you guys better not be loud tonight," Chris replied with a knowing look, which Rory blushed to in response, "Now he said he's picking you up from your room, you might want to be there so he doesn't think you stood him up."

"Yeah," Rory said turning to leave.

"Rory have a good time and I left a birthday gift for you on your dresser."

Rory turned to face Chris and gave him a hug, "Thank you."

. . .

After Lorelai broke down in Luke's she decided to visit her parents. She decided they had the right to know that Rory called. Plus, she was hoping the PI they had hired would be able to trace the number. She knew that Rory needed to be on her own. But Lorelai couldn't stand that. She needed to find Rory.

When she rang the doorbell the maid answered and brought Lorelai inside. She was led to the living room and the maid went to find her parents. They were both surprised to see Lorelai on a Sunday. Especially, since it was Rory's birthday. They expected Lorelai to stay home and sulk. They knew she missed her daughter. And they knew that she wouldn't take it well when she learned they got rid of the PI.

"Lorelai, what a lovely surprise," Emily said.

"Lovely indeed," Richard commented while walking over to the drink cart, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'm good, I don't plan on staying long," Lorelai replied.

"May I ask why you dropped by?" Richard asked.

"Rory called!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"How wonderful," Emily said.

"Yeah, I was wondering if we could get the PI to trace the number."

Emily and Richard shared a look. They had worried about this. Neither of them had informed her they decided to let it go. They knew Rory needed this. Rory needed to grow on her own. Lorelai did the same thing when she was young and as much as they hated to admit it, Lorelai did better off on her own than she ever would have if she stayed. Lorelai raised a wonderful daughter and made a great life for herself. Now it was Rory's turn. After all, she learned everything from Lorelai.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible," Richard stated.

"What?" Lorelai questioned.

"We are no longer working with the PI."

"Why not?"

"She doesn't want to be found Lorelai. She's doing the same thing you did. And maybe, just maybe, she needs to do this," Emily said.

"Why does everyone keep saying Rory needs this. Rory needs me. Rory has always needed me. Why doesn't she need me? I love her. I always have. But she left. And I don't know why. I wish she would tell me why. I need her to come home," Lorelai cried out to her parents.

"Lorelai, we all miss her. But maybe this is for the best," Emily said while patting her daughter's back.

. . .

Rory and Matt were having a wonderful date. Matt hadn't taken her anywhere fancy. Quite the opposite actually. Although, they had both been dressed up for a date at a dimly-lit restaurant they were at a hole in the wall Chinese take-out place with two tables inside. It was extremely enjoyable and fun. The two of them had ordered food for ten having to combine the two tables in order to fit it all. The Chinese couple that owned the place seemed rather pleased by all the food the two of them had ordered. Rory liked the simplicity of the date but could tell Matt put a lot of thought into it. The conversation ranged from books to high school stories to old friends to general interests. Eventually, it came to Rory's old life.

"Wow, Paris seems, just wow," Matt said after Rory had told him a story about Paris and the religious beats she wrote.

"Yeah, she really is just wow. But she is pretty amazing under all the crazy," Rory said with a smile.

"What do you miss the most about home? Besides friends and family that is," Matt carefully asked.

"My books," Rory stated, "I miss my first editions from my Grandfather, and I miss my books with writing in the margins. An old friend used to do that. It annoyed me at first but, now I find myself missing it."

"Ex?" Matt asked, seeing through the 'old friend line.'

"Yeah," she said smiling, "His name was Jess."

"So Jess and Dean, anyone else?"

"No just the two," Rory said slightly embarrassed.

"That actually seems really nice. I wish I could say the same," then Matt realized what he said, "I don't mean I have a bunch of random one night stands, or I have a string of exes. I had one serious relationship in the past. Sure there were a couple of one night stands. But there wasn't a lot. I'm sorry I probably shouldn't be talking about this."

"It's fine, it's nice to hear this on a first date instead of finding out the night before a wedding about an ex that's still in love. That happened to Paris' parents. She says that's why her parents always fight."

"Why does that explain so much about Paris?" Matt said laughing.

"Yeah, it really does explain a lot," she paused, "Matt, last night was great, but I don't think I would have gone that far if I wasn't drunk."

"I wouldn't have either," Matt admitted.

"I like you, but I don't want to lose our friendship."

"That's the last thing I would like."


	7. Out the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory and Matt fluff.
> 
> Lorelai breakdown.
> 
> Dave and Lane.
> 
> Paris and Doyle talk to Finn.

"Hey," Matt said to a waking Rory.

"Hi," she said in response before he put her mouth on her.

It had been a month and a half since their first date. By their third date, they decided to become an official couple. Last night Chris was out and they decided to take it a step further. There had been previous nights they shared a bed innocently. However, this morning was different. The two of them were naked in Rory's bed.

"I like waking up like this," Rory said.

"Me too," Matt agreed.

"Oh god, look at the time," Ror said staring at a clock that read 9:00.

"Ugh, I don't want to move. I like it here."

"I know, but Chris is going to kill us," she said while getting out of bed, "Here's a towel go back to your room and change and I'll see you downstairs in 15."

"One more kiss?"

"Sure," she said pressing her lips to him.

True to her promise she was downstairs in 15 minutes, right by his side. Chris gave both of them a knowing look making her blush. Then he lectured them about being late. Rory was editing manuscripts for the day. While Matt was working in the store. That put them on different floors, which Chris most likely did on purpose.

"So..." Chris said, "You guys finally."

A bright red Rory nodded her head yes.

"Finally!"

"Jeez."

"Oh come on, almost two months. I mean this all started by you guys almost sleeping together, it had to happen eventually. So should I stay out more often?"

"Oh my god. Why don't you talk about this with Matt? Isn't that what guys do?"

"You want Matt to tell me about your sex life?" Chris asked.

"No! But I don't want you to ask me."

Chris was chuckling and Rory was red. The past month and a half was filled with Chris helping her pick out outfits for dates and asking her about it. Rory had gained some friends. However, Chris filled that 'best female friend' spot her mom once filled. But he wasn't her mom and it felt nice. She had a friend that wasn't a relative or someone she knew her whole life. There were new people in her life and she was happy.

"Hey Chris," Rory said, "Do you want to know what made me come to Philly?"

"You don't need to-"

"But I want to."

So she told him what happened.

. . .

Lorelai's life was a mess. After finding out there was no longer a PI looking for Rory she broke down again. She hadn't talked to Emily or Richard since. She threw herself into her work. Her schedule was always full. It was rare for her to even see Luke. He was starting to feel neglected. He knew he was losing her to the grief. He had been trying to help. But every time he brought it up she'd shoot him down saying "he didn't understand." So he would drop it. But after a month and a half, he lost it.

"Lorelai this isn't healthy."

"What isn't healthy? Me working? I need to work."

"You're overworking yourself."

"I'm fine!" Lorelai yelled.

"You're not fine. You haven't been fine for a while."

"Luke my kid's gone. How do you expect me to be?" Lorelai asked hysterically.

"She's not dead."

"She mine as well be. I haven't heard from her in over a month. I don't know where she is."

"This isn't how you deal with it. Lorelai when's the last time we talked? When's the last time you did anything other than work?"

"So this is about me not being around you that much? Really? You are using my grief against me because of this?" now anger was rising in her voice.

"No, I am bringing this up because this isn't healthy."

"You don't get it. My daughter is gone!"

"No, I do get it! How do you think I felt when Jess left? No note, no calls. He was gone. I had a hunch on what state he was in. But that wasn't even confirmed. And Rory? I love her as if she was my own kid! So don't say I don't get it! Because I do," Luke said yelling back.

"Rory was my kid. Not yours, mine. And Jess? Jess was trouble. He wasn't doing any good here. Him leaving was a good thing."

"How dare you! That kid was my family!"

"He was trouble, Luke!"

"You know what? I'm done. I've been trying to help but you don't want it. So I'm going. Goodbye Lorelai."

And with that, he slammed the door. Lorelai realized what happened. She brought her knees to her chest and cried. She had just let Luke leave. And once again he was right. She hated it. He was always right. But she missed her daughter. And wanted her back. But because of that Luke was gone.

. . .

A/N: In my version, Zach and Lane are a no, and she and Dave are still together.

Dave was back. Lane and Dave had been doing long distance for nearly a year and a half. And now he was back. He was down on one knee with a ring.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Lane screamed.

"So yes?" Dave asked.

"Yes."

Dave had already asked for Mama Kim's blessing and everything. He was the perfect man for Lane. There was just one issue, Rory was gone. She was supposed to be Lane's maid of honor. But now she was gone and no one was sure when she was coming back.

"You miss her," Dave stated.

"I wanted her to be there when I got married."

"Maybe she'll be back."

"I don't think she will," Lane said.

"It'll be okay," Dave said pulling her into his arms.

"Oh my god! We're getting married!" Lane exclaimed.

"We're getting married."

. . .

Paris and Doyle had gotten together soon after Rory called. He was there for her. The two of them started having sex regularly which eventually became dates. Which eventually led them to be an official couple. However, the sexual component of their relationship made it nearly impossible for her to keep any roommate Yale tried to stick her with. They began this process when the Gilmore's informed them Rory would not be returning. Every week there would be a new roommate. Every week they would leave. No one was able to handle her. But that only made her miss Rory more.

"Doyle, why haven't you filled Rory's spot-on features?" Paris asked while they sat in her dorm.

"There are other feature writers."

"But you have an open spot in your staff."

"Paris, I can't just replace Rory, she's an amazing writer and your best friend."

"Thank you."

Then there was a knock.

"This better not be a new roommate," Paris said.

She opened the door to see a familiar face. It definitely wasn't a new roommate though. This was someone she had seen around Rory a few times before and someone she had seen at society events. But he was typically drunk. She never talked to him because of that fact. However, this version of Finn Morgan was sober. Sober but a mess. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Rory isn't here," is all she said before closing the door.

"I'm not here to see Rory," Finn said catching the door before it shut.

"Then why are you here?" Paris asked intrigued.

"I know why she left," he stated causing the door to go flying open.

"How the hell would you know? She left and hasn't talked to anyone? And if you know why haven't you told anyone yet? Do you enjoy seeing everyone in a panic about Rory being gone?"

"I needed to process it."

"Process what?"

"Everything that happened the day before she left. Well, not everything. I couldn't stand to see them hurt Love at a certain point, but I'm pretty sure I can infer."

"Love?"

"Rory."

"What happened?"

He retold the story up until the point he walked out. Which was after Rory tried to push Logan off her and Finn yelled at him. Finn yelled and no one listened. So he left. He knew it was stupid. He should have worked harder to get them to stop. But he truly thought if he walked out they'd see what they were doing was hurting him too and they'd leave her alone and go. When he found out Rory disappeared he was proved wrong. He stopped talking to those guys, stopped drinking, but he struggled to sleep. It haunted him.

Paris was crying in Doyle's arms. Finn kept saying sorry. Everything was a mess again.

"Why didn't you go to the cops?" Paris yelled.

"I'm not Rory. I'm not walking proof. I can report it, but who do you think they'll believe the Huntzbuger with tons of cash or the guy who was drunk half the night."

Paris understood what he was saying. No matter what nothing from that night could be proven and anyone who had been told would be paid off to not say anything. Rory disappearing was the best thing for Logan and his friends. Along with Rory's way of dealing with her grief. They would get away with all of it and that killed everyone in the room.

"You need to tell the Gilmore's," Paris said.

He nodded.

. . .

Jess was living on the opposite side of Philly from Rory. Neither knew the other was in the same city. Jess was working two jobs and writing on the side. He had been writing a book for a while and finally nearing the end. His social life in Philly was non-existent. Every minute he wasn't at work he'd be writing. Occasionally, he'd call Luke. Luke calling him was rare, but if Jess hadn't called in a while Luke would call him.

He had talked to Luke yesterday, so when Luke was calling him today he knew it had to be important news. He was hoping Rory came home. But, he knew Rory. And he knew she wouldn't do that.

"Luke?" Jess asked.

"Jess. I ended it with Lorelai."

"What?"

Jess honestly thought he heard this wrong. His Uncle was crazy about Lorelai. To here he ended it seemed like a foreign concept. He was confused. He knew Lorelai wasn't handling it all that well, but he didn't think this would cause them to break up.

"We got into a bad argument, and I was fed up with her shutting me out. So I said goodbye and walked out the door."


	8. Can't know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talk about ex's.  
> Jess's writing.  
> Star's hollow update.

"Rory, how come you never talk about Jess?" Matt asked.

It had been three months since they had first slept together. Meaning they had been together for four and a half months. At this point, Matt pretty much moved into Rory's room. He kept most of his clothes there and slept there every night. Rory had even met Matt's parents. They were a quirky couple but understanding. They asked about her family but quickly dropped it when they noticed her hesitance.

The two of them talked about almost everything. There were a few topics they stayed away from, such as the reasons she came to Philly, Jess, and Matt's old girlfriend.

"Well, why don't you ever talk about your ex-girlfriend?" Rory asked evading the question.

"Fine, her name was Emma. She was my first love and the only prior girlfriend I've had. We were best friends from birth. And in the eighth grade, I finally asked her out after having a crush on her for three years. In the eleventh grade, we broke up. She dumped me and left our friendship behind. Dated the star quarterback. It broke my heart. I lost my best friend, my girlfriend, the one person I whole heartily trusted. She was pretty amazing," Matt told her with sincerity in his voice.

In response, she said, "Jess moved to Stars Hollow while I was still with Dean. He was the closest thing to a 'rebel without a cause' our town had. But the bad boy imagery just hid the real Jess. He loved to read, possibly even more than me. He liked the same music I did. He had everything Dean lacked. You can probably see where this is going. I mean at that time everyone else could see it. I couldn't until Dean dumped me the second time and pretty much spelled it out for me. Jess and I got together. Things were great. End of the year I'm stressed writing speeches, taking finals. Then he leaves. No note, no call. Well actually, he called didn't speak though."

"Wow," Matt said.

"I wish it ended there. Eventually, he came back. He told me he loved me. Then, he took off. And he came back one more time. I was packing up my stuff at Yale and he asked me to leave with him. I said no. I wanted to say yes. But I had to say no. I should have said yes. So many things would be different. That was the last I saw of him."

"He sounds like a real winner," Chris said as he entered the room after hearing part of their conversation.

"Love is messy," Matt said.

"Messy or not I have a writer coming over later. This is a warning. And Ror I need you to take a look at this," Chris said handing her paper, "This was some of the writing he was able to spare. It's handwritten though and a bit messy."

Rory looked down at the papers and instantly recognized the handwriting.

"What's his name?" Rory quickly asked.

"Mariano. Has a pen name though, Dodger. Just Dodger."

"I can't be here when he's here."

"Why?" Both Matt and Chris asked confused.

"That's Jess," she said in response.

"As in the ex?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. I'll look over the writing, but he can't know I'm here."

Matt and Chris understood this had nothing to do with the fact he was her ex, but the fact he might tell someone. And Rory wasn't ready to be found. They found every day she became happier. But they still saw the pain in her eyes. They knew she was forever scarred and the pain would probably always be there.

"Ror, if it's too much trouble we don't need to hire him," Chris said.

"It's fine. If it's good he deserves it. Plus, I did tell him he could do something. This is something."

. . .

"Luke, I need to go. I'm at the place," Jess said into the phone.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

"And Jess, I'm proud of you," Luke said before hanging up leaving Jess with a smirk.

He was 20 minutes early. He was extremely eager for this meeting. He had talked to this guy Chris already who told him there was a good chance they'd end up publishing his writing. Something he'd been working on for over a year. He was excited. A feeling Jess didn't feel that often. When he walked in the door he saw the books all around him. He walked over to the shelves ignoring everyone around him.

A man walked up to him and said, "Jess right?"

"Um yeah. You're not Chris," Jess said looking at the man in front of him.

"No, I'm Matt. One of the other co-owners of this place."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too, I'll send Chris down."

Matt went upstairs to not find Chris, but Rory. She wasn't at her desk so he went up another flight to the apartment. She was in the living room reading some papers.

"Hey, Jess is here."

"He's early," Rory said looking at the clock.

"Yeah, he did the same thing you did the first time you walked into the old store. Walked straight up to the books ignoring everything around him. I mean we sell art here too," Matt said.

Rory let out a small laugh, "Neither of us knows a thing about art. You don't even know anything about art. Chris is the only one who understands that stuff."

"I should probably find Chris and tell him Jess is here."

"Wait, come here," Rory said.

"Yes?"

"I need you to give these papers back to Chris."

"Ah and I thought you wanted a kiss," he teased playfully.

"I want one of those too," Rory said before their lips met, "Okay I'll see you later. I'll be up here."

. . .

Lorelai's life was a mess. She had gone on a self-destructive path. She hadn't talked to her parents since Rory's birthday. She hasn't talked to Luke since the breakup. She hired someone to replace her at the Dragonfly. She was no longer physically working there. She made money off it but she was never there. She rarely left her house, the only people she talked to were the people who visited her and delivery guys.

Luke wasn't doing much better. After the break-up, the food at the dinner started suffering due to his bad emotional state. He was grumpier. He found himself calling Jess almost every day to talk. He was proud of his nephew. He missed Lorelai, but she needed to apologize. Everyone around him seemed to be so happy. Jess was going to a publishing house, Lane was engaged, Liz had bought a house in Stars Hollow. He hadn't seen Lorelai around town at all. The rumor was she rarely left the house.

Stars Hollow was concerned for both Luke and Lorelai. They all knew the two were perfect for each other. But now the two of them wouldn't even talk. They had both shut down and no one had any idea what caused them to break up. Babette heard yelling, but she wasn't able to make out the words on the day of the argument. Of course, everyone had an idea. They missed Rory and they knew so did Lorelai.

Dean wasn't doing well. His parents were pressuring him to take Lindsay back. The town found out he broke up with Rory before she left. So their pity stopped. Some people blamed him for his disappearance. Sometimes he also blamed himself. But he knew Rory wasn't someone to run away because she had no boyfriend. She was strong. Something worse had to happen.

Lane and Dave set the date for the wedding. Four more months and they would be getting married. If Rory wasn't back by then Lane wouldn't have her maid of honor. She just hoped Rory had a damn good reason to disappear. She was missing everything. Her mom was falling apart. Luke was mopping. There was a shift in the town.

Finn told the elder Gilmore's. They approached Mitchum Huntzburger with the news. He wasn't surprised. But since Rory was gone they didn't have evidence. He offered them money, but they didn't take it. They saw it as hush money. They didn't want hush money. They couldn't do anything. That realization hurt. But then they realized the party they threw caused it. This hurt even more. They tried to tell Lorelai, but she refused to talk to them.

Doyle kicked Logan off the Yale Daily News. The board approached him about this decision. Thankfully, Logan hadn't written an article by himself for over 8 months. The board was actually surprised by this. Thankfully they excepted this and decided to allow this decision.

. . .

"He doesn't speak much," Chris said when he and Matt joined Rory in the apartment.

"Very monosyllable," Matt agreed.

"That's Jess, but if you get him to talk about books-"

"Then he doesn't shut up," Chris said cutting Rory off, "Just like you."

"His writing is good," Matt said, "and he seemed like a decent guy."

"He's writing for us," Chris said, "You would find out eventually anyway, so mine as well just say it."

"Okay, he just can't know I'm here," Rory said calmly.

"Okay," Chris and Matt said.


	9. Everything seemed to fit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just Jess being Jess really. And Luke and Lorelai.

"Is Jess here?" Rory asked Matt.

"Yeah, he's downstairs. Why?"

"I'm going into my room. You need to make him come up here and fix the toaster."

"Why would be know how to fix it?" Matt asked clearly confused.

"I don't know why. But he does and I'm tired of cold pop tarts," Rory said giving him a small pout.

"Okay, I'll bring him up to fix it," he said before giving her a quick kiss, "Now go hide in your room."

Jess was now working part-time at the publishing house. When he was there working Rory would work in the apartment. Next month Jess's book would be published. He worked hard on it for the previous year. Then he came into the place three months ago. And in only one more month it will end up published. He had done something.

"Jess," Matt called when he got downstairs.

"What's up?" Jess asked.

"Would you happen to know how to fix a toaster?"

"Strangely, I do."

"Good, you can fix ours," Matt said satisfied.

This was the first time Jess had been in their apartment. It was a smallish space. It was a bit messy. There were books everywhere. None of that surprised him since they were two guys living over a publishing house. However, when he was the curtains he smirked. They were the same frilly curtains Luke had.

"Nice curtains," Jess said.

"My girlfriend's touch."

"Must be quite serious if you let her put those things up," Jess laughed.

"Serious enough," Matt shrugged.

When they were in the kitchen Jess saw the pop tarts on the counter and the coffee. It reminded him of what Lorelai's kitchen looked like. Except it seemed like they actually used the stove.

"The screwdriver is on the counter and if you want you can have a beer from the fridge," Matt said as he grabbed himself a beer.

"I'm good for now."

Matt sat down on the chair while Jess picked up the screwdriver, "Where'd you learn to fix these things?" he asked.

"My uncle owns a diner. And I may have looked it up."

"We tried that, couldn't figure it out though."

"Curtains girl couldn't figure it out either?"

Matt laughed, "She couldn't even put up the curtains, picked them out, and made Chris and I put them up."

"Wow. You must love her to do that for her."

"We don't love each other," Matt stated, "We just care about each other a lot. One of the first things she told me before we dated was, 'You're not the one.' We both know we aren't something that's going to be forever. But we care."

"How long have you guys been together?"

"Four and a half months."

"Wow."

"Last time I was with a girl that long I loved her. Did some pretty stupid things though."

"Love is screwy."

"Amen."

. . .

"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot and I'm sorry," Lorelai said looking into the mirror.

Now if only she could tell Luke that. She missed him. She missed him a lot. She missed going out during the day to see him. She missed seeing the townspeople. Luke was right. Everything he said that day was true. She knew it now she needed to say sorry. So for the first time in months, she left the house and walked to the diner. She walked in and sat down. Everyone was staring at her. She waited for Luke to come down.

He was surprised to see her sitting there. He was hoping she came with an apology. He approached her seat at the counter but said nothing. He just stared.

"I'm sorry, I had no right to say what I said. And you were right, this is the same thing I did. Oh my god, what if she's pregnant. She would be around seven months now. She could have told me that. I'm sorry Luke. I kept pushing you away when I needed you most. I still love you. I don't think I'll ever not love you," Lorelai burst out on the verge of tears.

"She would have told you if she was pregnant. And I still love you too. Wait here a minute," he said while he turned to run up the stairs.

When he came back down he came around to the side Lorelai was on.

He got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Lorelai's eyes grew big while the diner became silent, "Yes," she whispered before being pulled into a passionate kiss.

Then everyone in the diner cheered.

. . .

A few days had passed since the proposal and Luke hadn't told Jess. It had completely blanked him. The last couple of days had been a daze, he was just incredibly happy. By the time he had gotten to calling Jess, it had been a week. Stars Hollow had settled down from the big news and they were slowly prepping for Lane's wedding, which was happening in only three weeks.

"Luke, I'm at work right now, this better be important," Jess said as he was at the publishing house.

Matt and Chris watched Jess talk to Luke. They knew who Luke was from Rory, she talked about him quite often. The curtains she had them put up were the ones in his apartment. He was a father figure to her and he was dating her mother. They knew he was Jess's uncle. But they'd never seen him talk to Luke at work.

"Sorry about calling you now, just thought you should know Lorelai and I are engaged."

"Luke, that's great. Hey Luke I got to go, I'll call you later though," Jess said hanging up, "Sorry about that."

"No problem man," Chris said, "What was that about?"

"My uncle got engaged."

"Wow tell him congratulations from us," Matt said.

"Will do," Jess said.

"By the way, we want to print your book sooner. We were thinking this weekend if you have the dedication ready," Chris said.

"I know what I want it to say," Jess said looking at the ground, "I need someone else to type it for me though."

"Um sure," Chris said.

"To Rory, where ever you are I hope you get to read this. You are my inspiration and without you, this wouldn't be happening. Thank you for being there when I needed you most."

"That's beautiful," Matt said.

Rory was at the top of the staircase and heard every word of the dedication. She had tears running down her face. She was so proud that she couldn't contain it. She rand down the stairs and gave Jess a hug without thinking about it.

Jess had a girl hugging him. It took him a bit to recognize the girl. But once he did he clung onto her.

When Rory realized what she had done, she rambled, "Oh god. I need to pack. If I pack quickly I can be in another city by tomorrow. I have to restart again. How could I be so stupid? Matt, Chris can you guys help me pack? I need to leave. No one was supposed to know I was here. I'm sorry"

"Rory," Jess said, "Calm down, you don't need to pack."

"But you know that means Mom will know soon. She can't know. I can't go back their yet."

"I won't say anything. No one will know."

"What?" Chris, Matt, and Rory all asked.

"I ran once. I get it you need space. I won't tell them."

"Thank you," Rory whispered.

"I suppose you want answers," Matt stated.

"Yeah," Jess said.

"Ror is your editor, curtain girl, our roommate, and the third co-owner of Truncheon," Matt said.

"Wow."

"Two one-word answers back to back, monosyllable. I told you!" Rory exclaimed at Matt, "Cough up the twenty bucks."

"Not fair he never does that. Chris vouch for me," Matt said.

"Vouch or not she won," Chris said.

"Huh," Jess said as he took the scene in.

Suddenly seeing Rory there with the two guys made so much sense. But it also left Jess confused. She seemed happy. So what was keeping her from going back? It wasn't until their eyes met then he realized, even if she was happy she was broken. The shine in her eyes was gone. She was a shell. Luckily she wasn't an empty one. There was still happiness there. Just not the same type.

"Hey Jess, can I have the first copy of your book?" Rory asked, "I mean I understand if you want it. But if not can I have it please?"

"I was planning on giving it to you one day, anyways," Jess said with a smirk.

And all of a sudden everything seemed to fit.


	10. Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone being depressed.  
> People getting together.   
> ANd some maybe's

"Rory!" Matt said as he walked in with Jess and Chris.

"In here!" Rory yelled while looking at her laptop's screen.

"What are you looking at?" Chris asked.

"Photos on Stars Hollow's website. My best friend Lane got married over the weekend and Patty posted photos. Doesn't she look gorgeous in that dress?"

"Wow, she and Dave stayed together. I thought he went to California," Jess said.

"Long-distance," Rory replied.

"You miss her," Matt stated.

"Yeah. But I'm not ready to head back," Rory said, "Let's just go to bed."

"Okay."

The two of them went back to her room, leaving Jess and Chris to head back to their rooms. Jess had moved into the attic room and begun working there full time. He didn't mention anything about Rory when he talked to Luke and had no intention of mentioning it. He liked seeing Rory around. But as much as he liked seeing her he was also a bit upset that Rory and Matt were together.

. . .

"I miss her."

"Par, it's been over six months," Doyle said in response.

"I still miss her. I wish I could slap those jackasses without being hit with a lawsuit."

"I know how you feel," Finn said entering the room throwing his bag on the ground.

The three of them had ended up moving into an apartment off-campus. They were living quite comfortably and were starting to let go of what happened. Finn had cut ties with all his friends and had even managed to stay sober since moving in with Paris and Doyle. The three of them made a home together and with all their quirks they seemed to fit.

"Do you think she'll be back?" Doyle asked.

"Not unless she really wants to. And if I was her I would have no idea why I'd want to come back," Paris said.

"Well mates, I hope those jackasses are happy with themselves," Finn said.

And those jackasses were indifferent. They didn't care. They had different girls every night so to them, Rory was just another girl. Even though she didn't want them. The thing is that didn't matter to them because she wasn't the only girl they'd ever done that too. The others were just paid off for the most part.

. . .

"She's not coming back, Luke," Lorelai whispered one night when the two of them were in bed.

"Maybe one day."

"She won't be at our wedding."

"Maybe she'll show up."

"I just have this feeling it will be a while before she comes back."

That was their discussion that night. Lorelai came to terms with the fact Rory was going to miss important moments in Lorelai's life. She needed to learn to deal with it. Maybe even talk to her parents again. After all, she'd like someone she's related to at the ceremony. And she wanted her dad to walk her down the aisle. Now she needed to find a new maid of honor. The obvious choice being Sookie. Lorelai needed to keep moving forward.

"Goodnight, Luke," Lorelai said.

Keep moving forward.

. . .

A week after Lane's wedding everything was going well. Rory was back in the swing of things. Matt and Rory were working in the store one afternoon when a girl came in. She came over and quickly started a conversation with Matt and Rory. The girl's name was Emma. She was their age, enrolled in the local college, and quite smart. She kept popping in the store almost every day from the week following her initial visit.

Eventually, Rory pulled Matt to the side and said, "Ask her out. Remember what I said to you when you asked me out?"

"Of course."

"Well, you and I aren't the ones for each other because people like her exist for us."

"But Rory," he argued.

"Matt I love you, I always will. But I'm not in love with you. And you're not in love with me. We're best friends that share a room."

"Maybe you're right. But what about you?"

"I have my books."

Matt hugged Rory. He truly loved Rory. But she was right they were never in love. They could never fall in love. But Emma, he could fall in love with her. Plus he knew she loved Jess. He knew from the moment she came out of hiding and gave him a hug when he revealed his book dedication.

And Jess. Jess was in love with Rory. Matt knew that while Jess talked about her when he fixed their toaster. His time with Rory was up.

"I'll move my clothes back to my room tonight," Matt said.

"Go ask her out."

"Okay and if you get lonely tonight I'm sure Jess makes a wonderful pillow," Matt said giving Rory a knowing look.

Rory stood there blushing while Matt successfully asked Emma out to dinner.

Then came the explaining to roommates. While Rory was scared of how they would react, Matt didn't care. He thought it was their lives so why should anyone else get a say. He knew it was about time anyway. Anyone expecting them to last had to be crazy.

"Rory and I broke up," Matt said when the two of them were upstairs.

"What?" Chris asked.

"Huh," Jess responded.

"MATT!" Rory yelled.

All three of them at the same time.

"One at a time, Ror you go first," Matt joked.

"That's not how you tell people something like this. You don't walk into a room and just blurt it out," Rory said.

"Crap, that means this is real," Chris said, "I thought he was joking!"

"Let me explain," Rory said the. going into telling her roommates about the earlier conversation leaving out the part about Jess.

"Look I knew it would end, no offense, but I am still surprised. Mainly about the fact, Emma agreed to go out with Matt," Chris said.

"As long as he doesn't take her to get takeout he could have a shot at a second date," Rory pointed out.

"Takeout?" Jess questioned.

"Our first date," Matt clarified, "Yes I understand I'll take more than takeout for her."

"Not everyone can appreciate good Chinese food," Rory responded.

Later that evening Rory found herself trying to sleep in an empty bed for the first time in over three months. It was difficult for her and she was missing the companionship in bad. The once filled spot made her feel space. Without anyone there, she was a bit scared. Without thinking she got out of bed and climbed the stairs to the attic. The light was still on so she lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in, " Jess said.

When he saw it was Rory, he asked, "What can I help you with?"

She awkwardly asked, "Can I sleep here tonight with you?"

When she was met with a questioning look she started rambling, "I was having trouble falling asleep, then I realized it's because I'm alone. And I haven't slept by myself in over three months. And before that, it was mostly at the old place where the rooms were closer and I felt safer since I knew Matt and Chris were right there. Anyways it was a stupid question and I'm just going to go now."

"Stay, " he said in response.

He recognized the fear in her voice when she was speaking. She was scared to be alone. And he wasn't about to let her be terrified tonight. And if that meant he had to share his bed he would be fine with it. After all, he loved this girl.

"Thank you."

With that, she slipped into his bed next to him. His lamp was still on but the book he had in his hands was now on his bedside table. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rory opened her mouth to speak again telling Jess why she left Stars Hollow and Yale. Through it all he listened without interrupting.

"Those bastards!" Jess yelled when she finished, "That's what you're scared of isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're always welcomed here, " Jess said.

"Matt said I'd do this."

"What do you mean?"

"When I told him to ask Emma out he told me to join you tonight. In that logic, he implied you are the one for me since I basically said Emma could be the one for him."

"Huh."

"I think he might be right."

"Maybe."

"Maybe."


	11. Soon to be Wife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pregnancy and eloping.

7 weeks. It had been 7 weeks since Rory and Matt broke up. Matt and Emma were together and doing well. 6 weeks. It had been 6 weeks since Rory and Jess started dating. They were happy. 2 weeks. It had been two weeks since she took the test. It was positive. 1 week. It had been 1 week since she got a confirmation from the doctor. Now in the living room of their apartment sat Rory, Jess, Chris, Matt, and Emma.

"So why'd you call the meeting?" Chris asked.

"I well. Everyone in this room has just been instantly involved in each other's life," Rory said avoiding the question.

"Yeah, we kind of work with each other," Jess said.

"It's more than that," she said looking at the floor.

"Okay, what happened?" Matt asked concerned, "Come on Ror, whatever it is we are here for each other."

"I'm pregnant," she blurted.

"Congratulations!" Emma exclaimed.

"Wait, what?" Jess asked.

"You didn't tell him?" Chris asked confused.

"I'm two months pregnant. I took a test two weeks ago. I went to the doctor last week. I took the time to process it all. And here I am. If anyone wants to leave, please leave now."

Everyone did the math in their heads. They were all intelligent people and figured it out quite fast. But the room was filled with silence for the next four minutes. But no one left. Everyone had a different look on their face. Rory showed fear, she was scared of how the others might react. Chris showed excitement, he was genuinely happy for his friends. Emma showed shock, she was surprised by the news. Jess showed concern, he was worried about how this would affect the relationships in the apartment. Matt's face showed nothing he was unreadable. However, in Matt's head, he kept repeating, 'I'm going to be a father.'

Then he said it out loud, "I'm going to be a father."

"Yeah," Rory said quietly.

"Sit down you're pregnant," Jess said.

It was something Luke would say. It made Rory smile, but she did as she was told. She sat down and Jess sat next to her. He knew he was going to stick around. Even if it wasn't his kid. From the second she said she was pregnant he knew it wasn't his. They hadn't slept together so it was physically impossible. But to him, it didn't matter. He loved her and he wasn't about to leave her.

"Congratulations," Chris said.

"How is this going to work?" Emma asked bluntly.

The 100 dollar question. That no one knew the answer to.

"There is co-parenting. I mean, Jess and I look completely different so we can't really pass it off as Jess's kid. And I want to be there for my kid. Rory and I are already best friends. And there are parents that raise their kids without ever being romantically involved. We can do that. Oh my god, I'm going to be a parent. Hell everyone in this room is going to be a sort of parent!" Matt said rambling in a way Rory typically does.

"Okay slow down!" Chris commanded, "We're all family. Everyone in this room. We might not have all known each other that long but we're family. We'll figure it out together."

"Amen to that," Rory said smiling.

. . .

"November 5th"

"What's November 5th?" Luke asked.

"That my dear is when we are getting married. Everything is set all you need to do is get a tux!" Lorelai responded.

"That's in four months."

"Yeah. I'm tired of waiting!" Lorelai declared.

"Good, so am I. Hey when you say everything is set does that mean you can't undo it all and we get married even sooner. Say we elope tonight?" Luke asked.

"I like that idea!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Where?"

"I figured we can drive down to Philly and pick up Jess and find someplace around there."

"I want my parents to come. I haven't talked to them in a while but I want them there."

"Okay, why don't you give them a call while I pack some bags."

This idea had quickly turned into a real thing. Luke and Lorelai were over waiting and wanted to do this. Now. Both of them were finally ready. So Lorelai picked up the phone while Luke went upstairs.

"Gilmore residents," Emily said.

"Mom."

"Lorelai! Richard quick, Lorelai's on the line," Emily yelled to the other room.

Picking up the second line Richard said, "Lorelai is it really you?"

"No it's Brittany Spears," Lorelai replied.

"Who?" Emily asked.

"No one mom it's me."

"Lorelai it's so good to hear from you!" Richard exclaimed.

"Listen, as much as I love pleasantries let me cut to the chase. Luke and I are eloping tonight in Philly after picking up his nephew. I know he may not be the guy you like for me, but I love him. Now you are invited to join us."

"Lorelai you don't just-" Emily started.

"We'd love to come Lorelai. Just give us a time," Richard said cutting off his wife.

"Oh thank god. I was thinking of the ceremony at 6 and dinner after."

"Sounds good."

"Thank you for inviting us Lorelai," Emily said.

"See you there," Lorelai said before hanging up.

Luke and Lorelai hit the road deciding to call Jess from the car.

. . .

The five of them were still in the living room figuring things out. When Luke called the first time Jess hung up. When he called the second time he realized it had to be important.

"I have to take this, it's Luke," Jess said before answering, "Hey Luke."

"Jess, it's your soon to be aunt Lorelai! Luke's driving," Lorelai said.

"Oh hi Lorelai. I'm slightly busy right now."

"You can't be that busy," Luke's voice said.

"My roommate is pregnant," Jess said giving as much truth as he could.

"Tell me it's not yours," Luke said.

"No it's not," but he wished it was.

"Well look we are coming down to Philly to elope and we are picking you up. Send us the address to your place," Lorelai said piping back in.

"Um sure. I'll page it to you when we hang up."

"Okay see you later Jess," Lorelai said hanging up.

True to his word he paged them the address.

"They're coming here to pick me up then eloping," Jess said pointed towards Rory.

"They're coming here."

"Yup."

"What if they want to see the place? Meet your roommates?"

"You hide. That's what you used to do when I was here."

"You told them I'm pregnant. Matt and Chris are guys."

"I can pretend to be the extra roommate," Emma suggested.

"That'll work!" Rory said, "Thank you."

"No problem. I mean we're all a family aren't we?" Emma replied.

"Yes we are," Chris said.

"One happy, yet slightly screwed up family," Matt added.

. . .

"Luke, Lorelai," Jess said as the soon to be married couple stood in front of him.

"Jess, it's been a while since we've seen you in person you should visit more often," Lorelai replied.

"Huh."

In a weird way, Jess reminded Lorelai of Rory. They liked the same books and music. And he was around before Rory became the broken person Lorelai saw the day Rory left. Part of Lorelai blamed Dean for Rory leaving. So in her eyes, Jess was suddenly better. He was the good guy in the story for once.

"Well, are you going to show us your place?" Luke asked.

"Um, yeah let's head upstairs."

When they arrived at the top of the stairs Matt was sitting on the floor with papers all over and a calculator in hand. Emma was just watching him. And Chris was shaking his head in disapproval attempting to talk Matt down.

"I left for five minutes, what happened?" Jess asked his roommates.

"Matt is calculating the cost of living with the Baby. He thinks we need to get a car," Emma said rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, it's not normally like this," Jess said to Luke and Lorelai.

"You guys must be Luke and Lorelai," Chris said.

"Wow this might be messier than our house," Lorelai said.

"Once again not always like this," Jess muttered.

"You must be the one who's expecting," Lorelai said to Emma, "Congratulations! And you remind me of my friend Jackson," she said now talking to Matt.

"Thanks," Emma replied.

"I want a tour," Lorelai demanded.

"Matt needs a distraction he'll give it," Chris volunteered.

"Fine."

Once Luke and Lorelai left the room with Matt the three left started speaking quietly.

"She looks just like Rory," Chris said amazed.

"She didn't ask for coffee. Rory lost the bet," Emma said.

"Days not over," Jess replied, "Matt really wants a car?"

"Yeah says it's better to get the baby places," Emma responded.

"Where is this kid going?" Jess asked.

"An Ivy according to Rory," Chris said.

"Ah, and where are we getting that cash from?" Jess questioned.

"We are starting a savings account, together," Chris answered.

"Where is the kid going to sleep? We can't leave a newborn in its own room," Emma stated.

"Either with you and Matt or Rory and me. We can rotate," Jess said.

"Uncle Chris wants to watch the baby!" Chris claimed.

The conversation went on until Lorelai and Luke entered the room with a cup of coffee in Lorelai's hand. The couple looked happy and ready to get married.

"Let's go get married," Luke said to his soon to be wife.

"Let's do it!"


	12. Philly is Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory in star's hollow.  
> Dinner.  
> Paris.

"I'm going out!" Rory yelled fifteen minutes after her mom and Luke left.

"Woah, where are you going?" Matt asked.

"Star's Hollow."

Then she left. She went to the bus stop and got on the first bus. She was going home.

. . .

Lorelai Gilmore-Danes was sitting with her family at a nice Italian restaurant. Luke was smiling. Jess was doing his smirk that used to infuriate Lorelai. Even her parents looked pleasantly happy. And Lorelai was wearing a smile she hadn't had since Rory's disappearance.

"Mr. Gilmore, Rory told me you enjoyed Hemingway," Jess said halfway through the dinner.

"Yes, I do. However, I can't say the same for my Granddaughter."

"Oh my god!" Emily exclaimed, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. You're that hooligan Rory used to date!"

"Wow, mom that took you a while to put together," Lorelai said, "You're getting slower."

"Yes Mrs. Gilmore, Rory, and I used to date," Jess responded calmly.

"Well, you clean up nicely," Emily said in a snarky manner.

"Mom, be nice I just got married," Lorelai said.

With a huff, Emily responded with, "Yes in the most untraditional way possible."

"We're still doing a regular wedding," Luke mumbled.

"It's Star's Hollow, how normal could it be?" Jess laughed.

"You are? How wonderful. Lorelai why didn't you mention there would be a regular wedding along with this?" Emily asked.

"Emily I'm sure she was going to tell us eventually. Give her a break she just got married," Richard said.

"I was going to tell you, mom," Lorelai said.

. . .

It was late when she arrived in Stars Hollow. However, that evening there was a town meeting. She slipped in the back. Or she tried to. Being Stars Hollow everyone saw her entered. No one dared to move though. Taylor took a pause then continued to babble on about the issue at hand. Rory enjoyed listening to the town meeting. She liked the familiar faces. It calmed her. For 27 minutes Rory forgot how complicated her life was. When the meeting was over she bolted before she could be swarmed. She ran to the Crap Shack. But when she got there she couldn't even make it onto the porch. Rory ended up hopping on another bus to New Haven.

"Ma' ma how can I help you?" was the question they asked Rory when she made it to the front of the line.

"I'm here to report a crime."

Rory went to the New Haven Police Station.

"Sure thing. I can have someone talk to you right away."

After waiting for seven minutes someone brought her into a different room and sat down with her. In that room, Rory told her story to the authorities. However, she decided to identify as a Jane Doe. She found out Logan and his friends were already in custody awaiting a court date. She wasn't the only girl. But her story was going to help the case. She was left in the room alone. And then she cried. She finally allowed herself to truly cry about it. Not pass out on the floor, not run away. She just cried. Because it was over. It was all over. But she couldn't go home.

Before leaving the station Rory made a call.

"This better be good. It's 11 pm and I was in the middle of some good sex."

"Paris," Rory quietly said.

"Rory! RORY! GUYS GET YOUR ASSES IN HER IT'S RORY!"

"RORY!" said a male voice on the other side of the phone.

"IT'S RORY?" a second male voice said, this one with an accent.

"Paris what's your address?" Rory asked.

Once Paris told Rory the address Rory started making her way over the apartment building the address corresponded to. It was only a ten-minute walk from the police station. So pretty soon she was standing outside a door. An unfamiliar door that had familiar faces on the other side. After staring at the door number Rory finally decided to knock.

. . .

"Where's Rory?" Jess asked when he got home from dropping the Gilmore's, the Danes, and the Gilmore-Danes off at the hotel.

"She went to Stars Hollow," Chris replied quietly.

"Stars Hollow!" Jess yelled pulling out his phone.

It went to voice mail.

"How was the ceremony?" Matt asked when he entered the room.

"Good, but Rory went to Stars Hollow, and no one called Lorelai. So are we sure she went there?" Jess asked.

"They might not have called since she's getting married," Chris said nonchalantly.

"Rory is pregnant. Why would you let her go?"

"She had that look on her face where there would be no way to stop her," Matt stated.

"It's true I saw it," Chris added.

"You ate dinner with her family what did they say about her?" Matt asked.

"We used to date, nothing about her being gone," Jess answered.

"I'm surprised Lorelai brought her up at least five times when I gave the tour when we were in the kitchen and she saw the coffee and pop tarts she made a few comments, the books all over. She's really similar to Rory," Matt rambled.

"Yup," Jess replied.

. . .

Back at the hotel Luke and Lorelai were laying in bed naked. They had both had some of the best sex of their life. And now they were married. They were married a happy the one thing missing from the day was Rory. She should have been at the ceremony. She was Lorelai's best friend. She was the closest thing Luke had to his own kid. (A/N: This takes place before Luke finds out about April.)

"She should have been there," Lorelai said.

"I know."

"How did you do it with Jess? When he just left? How did you deal with it? Because I can't deal with it all. I miss her so much. I want another kid Luke, but I don't just want a Rory replacement. I don't want it to be a do-over because I messed up. I mean I obviously messed up. She's gone. And she's only called once! Once! I thought we were close. What happened?" Lorelai rambled.

Lorelai was now crying and Luke held her tight.

"We can have a kid and it won't just be a replacement. They'll be our kid. We'll love them wholeheartedly. When Jess left I had to trust in the fact he can take care of himself. And you raised Rory right, she can take care of herself too."

"Thank you, Luke. I love you," Lorelai said.

"I love you, too. And she'll be back."

"I hope so."

. . .

"RORY!" Paris yelled toppling her over.

"Paris," Rory said with a smile.

Behind Paris emerged Doyle and Finn. Everyone had a bright smile on and they all got a chance to hug Rory. They eventually moved into the living room and sat down. No one was sure what to really say to Rory so they sat in silence for a bit.

Eventually, Rory asked, "What caused you guys to move in together?"

"Well I wasn't going to live with those assholes who were my friends," Finn said.

"They're in custody awaiting trial," Rory replied.

"They are?" Finn asked intrigued.

"Yeah, I went to the police station earlier to find out there were other girls with the same story. They're going away for a long time."

"With their money, no matter what the sentence is they'll be put into a very nice prison," Paris scuffed, "Are you back?"

"No," Rory said.

"Why not? They're in jail, it's over. You can come back to Yale. Hell, you can live with us," Paris said.

"Physically it's over. Emotionally, it's not. I'm not ready. Plus, I have a life now. I can't just drop that."

"And what about college Rory? Are you going back? You had ambitions!"

"I'm saving up to go back. I have a job and friends. I even get to write sometimes. I still have ambitions. I'm just not ready to come back to Yale."

"Fine," Paris said calming down.

"The Yale Daily News misses you. Features aren't the same," Doyle said breaking the tension.

"Yeah because you refuse to fill the empty writing position."

"She can't be replaced."

"You live with them?" Rory asked Finn while Paris and Doyle bickered.

"Yeah, their sex is worse though," Finn replied.

"HEY!" Paris and Doyle yelled.

As the four of them bantered avoiding questions that were too personal Rory quickly fell back into the familiarity of the people surrounding her. It felt nice. But it wasn't home anymore. Philly was. Philly is home. Rory had a new home now. And she had a new family. That family was going to have a baby soon.


	13. Calm Before the Storm

The following events are in the months leading up to Rory Gilmore falling apart, again.

. . .

"They're in jail."

It had been a month since Rory's trip to Stars Hollow and New Haven. When she came back all she had said was, "This is home." No one asked questions. She went to her and Jess's room and took a nap. Now for the first time in weeks, Rory was opening up to Jess about her trip.

"They deserve to be there," Jess said.

"It's not covered by any media. They probably paid them off. The only reason they're in jail is because multiple people can forward. I wasn't the only one. There can be more girls who don't know and are afraid."

"Why are you still here?" Jess asked bluntly.

"This is home now. Everywhere else is haunted by some type of bad memory."

"I love you."

"Jess you are my forever. I love you too."

. . .

"She disappeared for eight months before coming back. Do I need to wait for another eight?" Lorelai pondered while eating her food.

"It was a month ago. Give her time."

"Babette said she couldn't go into the house. How badly did I need to screw up in order for her not to be able to go into the house? She must hate me. I mean the one day we're out of town she comes. Paris got to see her. She used to hate Paris," Lorelai babbled.

"It was a coincidence," Luke said.

"Her birthday is in a month and a half. That's only a little after the anniversary of her running away. Do you think she'll call on her birthday?"

"She called last year."

Luke was right she did call last year.

. . .

"Look you wore a stupid button two years ago that doesn't mean you can't find out the gender this time," Matt argued, "That button wasn't even for your kid."

"I want to know," Jess added.

"Three to one, no matter how Emma cast her vote you lose," Chris said.

"Hey let the girl live how she wants to. If you guys want to know you can ask when Rory isn't in earshot of the conversation and then tell me later," Emma replied.

"Hey, I thought you would be on my side!" Rory laughed, along with her family.

"Well, I'm more concerned about the last name of this kid. We have five parents in the room all with different last names. Obviously, Gilmore should be one of the last names. But who else gets a name on the kid?" Emma asked.

"If it's a girl it's Lorelai," Jess said.

"Really? I thought you'd be against that?" Chris asked.

"He may be against it but we all know it's true," Matt said.

"How's this, if it's a boy then it gets Matt's last name as the other last name, Jess picks the first name and Chris gets the middle name. If it's a girl her first name is Lorelai Emma can pick a middle name and you guys can figure out the other last name. However, I get veto power over any name. This baby will not have a mockable name," Rory stated.

"Sure, why not?" Chris said causing everyone to mumble an agreement.

. . .

Lane and Dave smiled at each other as a tiny plastic stick revealed Lane was pregnant. She was going to have a little perfect kid around soon. She was going to be a mother and Dave was going to be a father. She was happy. They had been trying for a baby for sometime after the wedding and now it was here. There was a kid inside her.

"When do we tell your mom?" Dave asked.

"Oh my god, I totally forgot about that. Shoot how do you think she'll react? She'll be mad right? No happy. She's always talking about how my cousins should have more kids. Now she gets a grandkid," Lane rambled.

"Well, there is no telling with her. I'll start touching up on my Shakespeare just in case, though."

"Don't joke about that. She only pulls out Shakespeare when it's really bad. It can't be that bad. Can it?" Lane asked while freaking out.

"Hey, calm down stress isn't good for babies."

"It isn't? I should have known that. I'm already messing up."

"Lane you're going to be a perfect mom."

. . .

The first time the scent of coffee made her puke she passes it off as a one-time thing. By the 7th time, she admitted the smell of coffee was no longer appealing in her pregnant state.

"Get it away, all of it away from me!" Rory yelled.

"We need coffee to wake up," Matt said.

"Well person you knocked up gets sick at the smell of coffee so I think I have more of a say," Rory argued.

"Fine, no coffee."

"I use to love coffee. What is happening to me?"  
Rory asked.

"In your words, I knocked you up."

"You'll be back to coffee all the time when the baby is born," Jess chimed in.

"At least she won't have a coffee addiction from birth," Matt said.

"She?" Rory questioned.

"Shit."

. . .

"Welcome everyone to the Geller administration. As you all know I am now the current editor of the paper and things will start changing. Now get to work!" Paris snapped at her reporters.

"Paris you'll do great!" Doyle reassured her.

"Of course I will now go write something. I didn't give you your own column for you to stand here and talk to me."

With that Doyle sat at his new desk and started brainstorming. Paris took in the newsroom as a whole knowing it was her's now. After walking around for a bit Finn walked in.

"Paris darling, how's the first day?" Finn asked.

"What the hell are you doing here don't you have a class or something?" Paris questioned.

"Just finished."

"Well, Finn we are a bit busy here."

"Of course love. I'll get out of your hair."

"See you at home," Doyle shouted from his desk, earning a glare from Paris.

Paris was the editor. And she was excited to be the editor. She was in charge. She had the power and she knew what she wanted to be on the front page of the first issue to be published under Paris Geller as the editor. The Huntzburger trial. A big story that has been out of the media. Which Paris assumed was because Mitchum was paying them off to stay quiet. After all, he ruled the media world.

. . .

"Allegations?" Jess questioned.

"They have multiple girls who came forward. Hell, you mentioned your friend Finn was going to step forward as a witness. And they are framing this as allegations?" Chris asked.

"No one can let Rory see this," Matt stated.

"She has a right to know," Jess said.

"It was almost a year ago, it going to break her," Matt disagreed.

"She'd want to know!" Jess yelled.

"Stress can induce early labor or miscarriage," Chris calmly stated.

"Exactly," Matt agreed.

"Whatever," Jess said walking away.

. . .

Before they knew it, it was the anniversary. Rory was in her grandparents' pool house a year ago. And now six months pregnant she wasn't moving, she wasn't crying, she wasn't speaking. She was simply staring at the wall breathing heavily.

No one could get her to even eat.

Everyone took turns going into the room and speaking to her.

. . .

Matt went first.

"Rory, I need you to talk to me," silence, "Okay stay quiet. Just listen. Last year you came into the bar Chris and I were at and sat down at our table. We talked for a bit then I asked you to move in. I didn't know you, but I saw something in you that scared me. You were empty. I asked you to move in and you did. You became my best friend, you were even my girlfriend for some time, now you're carrying my child. I can't lose you. None of us can lose you. We're a family."

There was no response, but he could see the emotion in her eyes. He wasn't going to get a response, so he slipped out of the room. In the hallway, Jess, Emma, and Chris stood there.

"Chris, go ahead," Matt said.

"Okay," Chris replied.

When Chris entered the room he sat down next to Rory and thought about the first time they met. He knew Matt already used that so he had to use a different strategy.

"Look, I'm not going to tell some sappy story about how we got to this point. I have questions. Do you and Jess have you guys had sex yet? I mean I know it's got to be weird since you're carrying Matt's kid. Well in reality everyone's kid. Five parents. Anyways you told me not to ask about your sex life. So I'll ask another question. When was the last time you watched the news? I mean Matt didn't want to tell you. But I have a feeling you already know they are acting like there is no case against Logan and his friends. That's not true though, right? You said you went to the police. Look at me I'm doing a classic Rory ramble."

Then he went silent. He sat there and stared with her. Before leaving he pulled her into a hug. She didn't hug back but he held on for life. He didn't want the girl to slip away. He needed her to fight. She was part of his family.

When he left he didn't say anything to the people in the hallway. Instead, he went to his room and stared at the walls. The other three stood outside his door watching him.

"Great it's contagious," Matt said.

"It's not contagious," Chris mumbled.

"At least he talks," Emma replied, "I'll talk to Rory."

So Emma entered the room Rory occupied.

"Hey, Rory. I want to say thank you. You were the one who told Matt to ask me out even when you guys were together. I want to thank you because I love him. And he loves me. One day we're going to get married. When that happens I want you to officiate the wedding. I heard it's not difficult and you can become certified online. I would ask you to be my maid of honor, but I have a sister. And Matt loves you but Chris was there first. Plus you mean so much to both of us. So thank you."

Rory was unresponsive. As much as Emma likes Rory. Rory knew there was a part of Emma that hated Rory for being the one that was first. Rory was the pregnant one. Rory was the best friend. Emma knew this. The only difference was the type of love. And Rory was the one that helped them fall in love. So Emma left the room.

She joined Matt and Jess in the hallway.

"Jess," Emma said.

Jess didn't respond he just went in. He sat down and stayed quiet for a minute.

"I'm going to call Lorelai," Jess said.

"No."

Rory broke the silence. She broke the silence because she didn't want Jess to call her mother. While she was thinking of how pathetic she was, Jess had a smirk.

"Okay, I won't call Lorelai. But you need to get up and at least eat something," Jess stated.

"Fine."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jess."

Then she started crying. He moved closer and put his arm around her.

"I love you," Jess whispered in her ear, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"You are being sappy," Rory said between the sobs.


	14. The Storm

Jess woke up to an empty bed. His first thought was thank god she's eating. When he went down to the kitchen it was empty. So he checked the bathrooms. When he couldn't find her in the apartment he woke his roommates and filled them in. Together they went down to the second floor to check the office space.

They checked the bathroom on this floor, the closets, everywhere. She was nowhere to be found. So they went down to the store. In their hearts, no one truly expected to find her downstairs. But they looked anyway. And to no one's surprise, she wasn't there.

"The security footage, we can see what time she left," Jess said eagerly.

They pulled out the footage and rewind to find her leaving. 4:30 A.M. She had been gone for four hours. Jess looked terrified. Jess felt terrified. Matt matched him and look and feel. Chris had sunk to the floor. And Emma was stunned.

"Someone call her!" Jess yelled.

Chris started dialing the number. It rang, but there was no response. So he tried again. Same thing. He tried four times. Each time there was no response. She was pregnant. That left everyone wondering why run now.

"Maybe she left a note?" Emma suggested.

Then they began to search for a note. There was a bit of relief when they didn't find one. They knew when she left home she left her phone and a note. She didn't leave either. It wasn't the same. The situations are different. The four of them sat in the living room and stared at the wall.

. . .

It was around 10 A.M. when the phone rang. Everyone jumped to grab it. Jess got it first. He was nervous but he clicked answer.

"Matt," a female voice asked.

It wasn't her. He shook his head and handed the phone to Matt. With that, Jess got up and decided his time was better spent writing. He sat down and started mapping out a new book. This one is the story of his life.

He got lost in his work and wasn't aware of his surroundings for an hour when the phone went off in the other room. He dropped what he was doing and entered the other room. 

"Is it..?" Jess asked Matt who had the phone.

"Yeah," he said.

"Can I talk to her?" Jess questioned.

"Sure," Matt said handing him the phone.

. . .

Earlier that day.

All of a sudden being a jane doe felt like relatively nothing. She felt like she wasn't helping. So she left the apartment. She took a bus to the train station and found one headed to Connecticut. She called Finn, who surprisingly answered on the first ring. He was a witness and an important part. Finn picked her up hours later together they went to the New Haven police station.

In the same room, she told the same story this time including her name. She was to be contacted before the trial and she needed a lawyer. Finn set her up with his lawyer. It was almost noon when Rory remembered she left without saying anything. She finally called. She had 7 missed calls. Most being from Chris so she called his number.

Matt answered, "Hello."

"Matt," she said.

On the other end, she heard Jess's voice engaging with Matt before his voice came through.

"Where are you?" Jess asked.

"New Haven."

"You should have woken me."

"I know. I just needed to go to New Haven. I went back to the police station," Rory said.

"Are you safe?" Jess questioned.

"Yeah. I'm on my way to the bus depot," Rory replied, "I'll be home in a couple of hours."

"Okay."

. . .

Rory was home all was well. Rory and Emma were talking middle names. Jess was reading. Matt was asking Chris about the girl on the phone. For the first time in 48 hours, everything was normal. People weren't missing or staring at walls.

"So is so your girlfriend? Or a fling? Fuck buddies maybe?" Matt asked.

"We're working on it," Chris replied.

"Does she know by dating you she's dating 4 other people plus an unborn child?" Jess asked without even looking up.

"Jeez when you put it like that it sounds like a nightmare," Emma says.

"Hey, we all do it," Matt rebuttal.

"You guys got together before the kid was in the picture," Chris said.

"Technically the kid was already there we just didn't know until two months later," Matt shot back.

"Holden," Rory said suddenly.

"What," Chris asked.

"When did you start rereading catcher and the rye?" Jess questioned.

"Middle name. What do you think Emma?" Rory said.

"It's pretty. Lorelai Holden Gilmore undetermined last name," Emma replied.

"Why are we pretending it's undetermined. It's either Mariano or Scott. Matt and Jess can flip a coin for all I care," Chris said.

"What is the kid going to call all of us?" Jess asked, "I'm not going to be Uncle Jess. Uncle Jess dating Mommy sounds strange."

"Five parents. All of a sudden this seems really complicated," Matt added.

"First names all of us?" Rory suggested.

"Even you?" Emma asked.

"I called my parents by their first names," Jess said.

"You hated them," Chris pitched.

"I didn't hate them. Maybe I hated Jimmy. They just got in my nerves," Jess stated.

"My point exactly," Chris said.

"Well anyone have any better idea?" Matt asked.

The room went silent. It would be the first name. No one was going to object.

. . .

"She turns 20 soon," Lorelai said.

"Two months."

"Then we get married again a month later."

"Maybe she'll come," Luke said hopefully.

Then Babette came running into the house. She didn't knock she just came in yelling.

"Lorelai put the news on! Oh, Morey and I were just flipping through the channels and we saw her name. They were talking about her in that awful Huntzberger case! I was going to call Patty to see if she knew more about it. But I figured you should see it first."

And Babette was right. On the news, Rory's name was there. She came forward as a victim of Huntzberger and his friends. Lorelai finally had the answer to her questions. Except one. Did Rory end up pregnant? Luke had tears while she was just shocked.

"Thank you, Babette," was all Lorelai said.

Lorelai was back to shutting people out.

. . .

"Geller," Paris said answering the phone.

It was late but Paris had been held over at the YDN working on finalizing things for the upcoming deadline.

"Paris," Lorelai said on the other line.

"Lorelai is that you?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I found out what happened to Rory."

"You didn't know?" Paris asked.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I assumed your parents told you."

"They knew?" This was news to Lorelai. She didn't think anyone knew.

"Finn told them."

"Paris I need to go."

"Bye Lorelai."

. . .

Lorelai waited until the next day. She waited until sunrise to leave the house. It was still early when she arrived at the elder Gilmore house. But she was mad. No one told her.

"Lorelai what a surprise," an energetic Emily answered the door.

"You knew why Rory left and never told me?" Lorelai asked hostility.

There was a shift in Emily's demeanor, "If I remember correctly you wouldn't talk to us!"

It was true.

"So you tell me anyways."

"How? leave a damn voicemail?"

"Yes mom, it's better than nothing."

Richard joined them.

"Hello, Lorelai," he said, calm as always.

"Dad."

Then she turned and left.


	15. Just Like Your Mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A baby is born

4:03 am.

Rory called her mom. Lorelai answered and dove into the story. When the story was finished Lorelai invited Rory to the wedding, before she received an answer Rory hung up in a hurry. Little did Lorelai know her daughter's water had just broken at 33 weeks.

Rory hobbled to her room yelling, "Jess! Jess! Wake up!"

With this, she woke up Chris who asked, "Ror, what's wrong?"

"My water broke."

"Shit, sit down I'll get Matt, Emma, and Jess."

"What the hell is all this yelling?" said a grumpy Jess.

"Rory's water broke she's in labor," Chris answered.

Jess was now awake and semi alert. He started grabbing what they had planned on bringing to the hospital and decided to get Rory in the car while Chris got the other two co-parents. 

. . .

13 hours later Lorelai Holden Scott-Gilmore was born.

Jess and Matt ended up taking Chris' suggestion and flipped a coin. Matt won. Jess looked down until he saw the baby. She was small but bundled up. She was a joy and made everyone in the room smiling. Everyone got time with the baby and introduced themself not caring how strange it was. 

"Hey Lorelai, we'll have to come up with a nickname for you. I'm Jess," Jess whispered when the tiny girl was in his arms. "You're so beautiful. You look just like your mom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter I've written. I am trying to ease back into writing this fic after taking such a long break.


End file.
